Add Em Up Two Step Equations Activity
Your students will enjoy this free printable Add Em Up Two Step Equations Activity which is both engaging and self-checking.
I originally created this activity to be featured in the Winter 2023 issue of the Oklahoma Council of Teachers of Mathematics newsletter. But I decided I wanted to share it with you as well!
What is an Add Em Up Activity?
In an Add Em Up Activity, students are provided with four problems to solve. These four problems are laid out in a 2 x 2 grid with a circle at the center.
Students must work all four problems and find the sum of their four answers. We call this the “Add Em Up” step.
There are two different approaches for this activity. You can provide students with the template that tells them the sum that their answers should add up to. This makes the activity self-checking.
Or, you can give students the template with a blank circle in the center. Students must then find the sum of their four answers, write it in the circle, and bring the activity to you to verify the correctness of their sum.
Two Step Equations Activity
For the Two Step Equations Add Em Up Activity, students are given four 2-step equations to solve. If students solve the four equation problems correctly, the sum of their four answers should be -17.
This activity is meant to only take 5-10 minutes of class. It would make a great exit ticket activity or a “let’s see what you remember from yesterday” opening activity.
You could also assign it as a short homework assignment.
More Add Em Up Activities
I have created Add Em Up activities for other math topics as well that you might be interested in checking out like my angles in polygons activity, my non-standard operations activity or my binomial expansion activity.
Free Download of Two Step Equations Activity
This Two Step Equation Activity is available to download in PDF format and as an editable PowerPoint file. You will need to unzip the folder in order to edit the PPT file.
Add Em Up – Two Step Equations (PDF) (373 downloads )
Add Em Up – Two Step Equations (PPT in ZIP Folder) (213 downloads )
Puzzle Solutions
I intentionally do not make answers to the printable math puzzles I share on my blog available online because I strive to provide learning experiences for my students that are non-google-able. I would like other teachers to be able to use these puzzles in their classrooms as well without the solutions being easily found on the Internet.
However, I do recognize that us teachers are busy people and sometimes need to quickly reference an answer key to see if a student has solved a puzzle correctly or to see if they have interpreted the instructions properly.
If you are a teacher who is using these puzzles in your classroom, please send me an email at sarah@mathequalslove.net with information about what you teach and where you teach. I will be happy to forward an answer key to you.
Not a teacher? Go ahead and send me an email as well. Just let me know what you are using the puzzles for. I am continually in awe of how many people are using these puzzles with scouting groups, with senior adults battling dementia, as fun activities in their workplace, or as a birthday party escape room.