Exponents Lesson Plan: Number and Operations
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This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Exponents, and supports the standards of using whole-number exponents to denote powers of 10, and writing and evaluating numerical expressions involving whole-number exponents. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of creative projects.
Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Display expressions involving numbers in base 10, like these:
10 x 10 = 100
10 x 10 x 10 = 1,000
10 x 10 x 10 x 10 = 10,000
10 x 1/10 = 1
10 x 1/100 = 0.1
10 x 1/1,000 = 0.01
Ask students:
- How does multiplication affect a number? How does division affect a number?
- How are the numbers 10 and 0.1 related?
- Do you notice any patterns in the numbers above? Explain.
Step 2: BUILD BACKGROUND
- Read aloud the description on the Exponent Topic Page.
- Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding.
- Have students read one of the following Related Reading articles: “In Practice” or “In Depth”. Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.
Step 3: APPLY
Students synthesize their ideas and express them through one or more of the following creative projects. They can work individually or collaborate.
- Make-a-Movie: Imagine you invest $2.00 in an account that doubles your money each week. Create a tutorial explaining how much money you would have after 10 weeks.
- Make-a-Map: Make a concept map identifying quantities that are best measured with either positive or negative exponents, such as the number of cells in your body or the diameter of a red blood cell.
- Creative Coding: Code a math problem that uses exponents.
Step 4: REFLECT & ASSESS
Reflect: After sharing creative projects with each other, students reflect on what they’ve learned about exponents. Prompt them by asking questions such as:
- How do exponents relate to multiplication and division?
- Why might you represent a quantity with a positive exponent? Why might you use a negative exponent?
- What is the exponential form of 1,000,000?
- How can you represent 5 x 5 x 5 x 5 with an exponential expression?
Assess: Wrap up the lesson with the Exponents Quiz.
Step 5: Extend Learning
Continue to build understanding around number and operations concepts with BrainPOP’s Numbers and Operations topics, games, and teacher resources.