Lesson Plan #1

Solving Systems of Linear Equations by Substitution Method

Teacher Name: Taylor Eppler
Date of Lesson: Third day of unit

Number of Students: 32
Length of Lesson: 50 minutes

Lesson Objective:
The objective of this lesson is for the students to learn how to use substitution as a
method for solving a system of linear equations and to understand the process of
substituting an expression equal to a variable in for itself.
State Standards Addressed: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.EE.C.7-8
Materials: Anticipatory set worksheet, whiteboard, markers, paper, pencils, and
Algebra textbook.
Anticipatory Set:
Have students work with a partner to work on the attached worksheet
(located at the end of the lesson plan). Have them spend about 5-10 minutes
completing the problem.
After students have finished begin a brief discussion about the processes
used to find the final answer. Ask questions like the following to move the
discussion in the direction you want it to go. Select specific student
responses in a particular order based on how different groups solved the
problem to lead the discussion in the direction desired.
Questions: How was the first part of the problem important? How did you
use this answer in the other two parts? Would you have been able to find
the final answer without first doing the first two steps? How does this
problem relate to systems of equations that we talked about yesterday?
Teaching Instructional Process:
Teacher Action

Teacher Talk

Expected Response

Coming out of the

anticipatory discussion
explain to students how
the problem they did
relates to solving using
substitution

We can use this method

of solving for an unknown
in a couple of steps when
we are solving for a
system of equations. We
can first solve one
equation for a single
variable. Next we can plug
in this expression for the
variable in the next

Students may be confused

at first on how the
problem they just did
relates to solving systems
of equations but this
should begin to clear up
with a few example
problems.

Taylor Eppler

equation and solve for its

numerical value. Once we
have one variable solved
for we plug this back into
what we are given to find
the final variable. Lets
look at some examples.

Next put the following

problem on the board:
2y = 4x + 6
y=x2
Slowly go through the
process of solving this
system of linear equations
by substitution on the
board.

Lets look at the first

equation. Please take out
a piece of paper and a
pencil and write down the
problems with me. What
variable do you want to
solve for?
We can solve for y easily
by diving the whole
equation by 2. What
would y equal then?
Now that we know y, lets
plug in what y equals into
the second equation. Now
we have 2x + 3 = x 2.
Now we know how to
solve for x. What do we
get?

The students might say

they want to solve for y
since it is the easier of the
two to solve for.

Students would then

know y = 2x + 3
Students should already
know how to solve for x
and get x = -5 (At this
point in the class the
students have had a lot of
practice solving an
equation for a single
variable, and solving
single variable equations.

If students decide to plug

Now that we know what
in -5 into the first
x equals, lets use this
equation they will have 2y
information to find y. Plug = 4(-5) + 6 and solve y to
in -5 for x in either of the
equal -7
two equations and solve
If students plug in x = -5
for y
into the second equation
they will get y = -5 2 and
still solve y to equal -7
Put the following three
additional example
problems on the board
and have the students
help walk through the

Lets try these next few

problems together. It is
important to remember
that there isnt right or
wrong choice of what

Students should write

down the problems in
their notes and get this
answer with the help of
the teacher.

Taylor Eppler

steps to solving the

equation to solve for first,
problem.
although one may be
y = 3x and x+2y = -21
easier than the other.
x+5y = -3 and 3x-2y = 8
6x-2y = -4 and y = 3x+2
As you solve the third
problem stop to discuss
what you get.

So now we have -4=-4 for

the third problem. What
do we do from here?

(-3,-9)
(2,-1)

The students should

realize that we cant do
anything further with this
problem, although they at
first might think a mistake
was made and go back to
check their work or try
solving it a different way.

What does -4 = -4 mean?

What type of solution does
Students should come to
this give? What does this
the conclusion that this
look like on a graph that
we discussed yesterday? means the two equations
are the same and so
there is infinitely many
solution. They should
also recall that the
graphs are on top of one
another because they are
the same.
For independent practice
give the students
problems from the book
to work on for homework.
These problems will be
looked at for the first ten
minutes of class the next
day and the students can
ask questions they may
have.

For homework please try

problems 8-12 on page
263 in your textbook. We
will quickly go over the
answers to these five
problems at the beginning
of class tomorrow so if
you have any questions
write them down so you
can ask.

Students will be expected

to complete the
homework and make note
of any questions or
difficulties they run into.

See the attached picture of

the practice problems
from the book. The
answers are as follows
8. (2,10)
9. (16,4)
10. (-23,-7)
11. (2,7)
12. c = 6 and d = 7
Taylor Eppler

Guided Practice and Monitoring:

While the students are working on the anticipatory problem, walk around the room
to see how each pair is doing. This is a good time to answer questions and also to
see how much of the class is understanding the concepts and who is struggling. The
group discussion is also a good way to monitor how the class is doing. Pay attention
to how many students are raising their hands to answer questions and call on a
variety of students to see what they know. If something seems confusing to the class
as a whole spend more time talking about that topic or step of the problem. At the
end of the problem you can have the students give a thumbs up or down quickly to
see who did not understand the problem or solution. At the end of the class, when
the students have a some time to start their homework you can approach these
students and follow up if they still need additional help.
Strategies to Engage Diverse Learners:
This lesson is good for diverse learners because it includes partner work, group
work, and independent work. Working in pairs is great for students that struggle
with math or to complete their work. The anticipatory set is also good for learners
who have low confidence in their math ability or simply dont like it because it is a
logic problem using words and letters instead of numbers. If there are any students
with a learning disability they can be paired with another student who can
specifically help them during the warm up and can be given extra help at the end of
class when other students are starting their homework.
Homework problems from the book. Students are to do 8 through 12.

Taylor Eppler

NAME:__________________________________

DATE:________________

Anticipatory Set Worksheet

WORD SCRAMBLE

Directions:
Your friend asks you, What is the best university around? You have no idea and
begin guessing but are getting no where so your friend decides to give you some
clues.
He provides you with the following word and tells you to unscramble it.
PIPEAWSCH
______________________________
Once you have unscrambled it, he gives you another clue. It is another scrambled
word but this one also has a letter missing. You are told that the first letter in the
last word you unscrambled is the missing letter in this word.
TRE___LAN
_____________________________
After you have figured out this word you are given one more clue! Again it is a
scrambled word that also has a letter missing. The missing letter is the sixth letter
in the previous word. Good luck figuring it out!
GINIH___CM
________________________________
Woo! You have now figured out all three clues! Your friend tells you that the
answers to the second and third parts are the final answer!
The best university is.
______________________________ _____________________________ !!!
Second Word
Third Word
Taylor Eppler