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Foldable Book of Exponent Rules

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I want to share the foldable book of exponent rules we created in Algebra 1 to glue in our interactive notebooks. We made a “poof book” from a single sheet of copy paper.

After playing The Game of Grudge yesterday as a review game to see what we remembered about exponent rules, my students were disappointed that we were taking notes over exponent rules today instead of playing another round of the game. 

Today we took our notes over exponent rules in the form of a poof book. 

foldable book of exponent rules algebra interactive notebook

I’ve been wanting to make one of these books since I learned about them during a professional development workshop while I was student teaching.  I’ve heard them called magic books and poof books.  

Basically, you take a sheet of letter sized paper and fold it into a cute little book with the help of a pair of scissors and some magic.  Instructions on making the book can be found here.

This is my copy of the book, so it is titled “Ms. Hagan’s Book of Exponent Rules.”  My students titled their books with their own names.

foldable book of exponent rules algebra interactive notebook

Our first two pages of the book feature some important vocabulary.  I needed to make sure that all of my students knew what we were talking about when we mentioned the exponent, base, or power.

foldable book of exponent rules algebra interactive notebook

I had never seen exponent rules presented using P->M->A before Mrs. D left a comment back in February on a post I made during my student teaching.

Here’s what she wrote:

I am currently student teaching. This is what I shared with my algebra students. I write P M A down the side of a piece of paper.

Product -> (2^3)^4 = 2^(3*4) = 2^12
(draw an arrow down to multiply) “look down a line to remember what to do with exponents. I see I need to multiply them.”

Multiply -> 2^3 * 2^4 = 2^(3+4) = 2^7
(draw an arrow down to add) “look down a line to remember what to do with exponents. I see I need to add them. Also keep in mind the bases need to be the same!”

Add -> 2^3 + 2^4
(draw an arrow down to… blank space) “look down a line to remember what to do with exponents. Wait, there’s nothing there. I cannot do anything with the exponents.”

Mrs. D

I changed the P to mean Power to a Power.  And, I explained it to my students like this:  The arrow tells us what to do to the exponent rules.  In a power to a power problem, the arrow points to multiply, so we multiply the exponents.  

In a multiplication problem, the arrow points to add, so we add the exponents.  In an addition problem, the arrow points to nothing, so we do nothing to the exponents.

One of the things I am determined that my students will leave my classroom knowing this year is the word “vinculum.”  It’s one of those things that I use on a daily basis that I didn’t know the name for until a year or so ago.  

You know that bar you put above a repeating decimal?  It’s a vinculum.  

You know that bar you put between the numerator and denominator of a fraction?  It’s a vinculum.  

You know that top line of a radical symbol?  It’s a vinculum.  

I’ve emphasized this word so much this year, my eighth graders found it necessary to correct their science teacher for not referring to the vinculum by its proper name when learning about the density equation.  

Is this word critical to my students’ success?  No.  I earned a degree in pure mathematics without knowing what the word meant.  

But, I do think it goes to show my students that they shouldn’t be scared by new vocab words just because they sound scary.

foldable book of exponent rules algebra interactive notebook

For negative exponents, I use “cross the line and change the sign of the exponent.”  We didn’t have time to explore why this works, but I will cover it more in depth with my students when they reach Algebra 2.  

We also discussed why anything raised to the zero power is equal to 1.

foldable book of exponent rules algebra interactive notebook

We ended up finishing up our review of exponent rules with an exponent rules card sort and a game of Exponent Rule Karuta.

More Activities for Teaching Exponent Rules

Sarah Carter teaches high school math in her hometown of Coweta, Oklahoma. She currently teaches AP Precalculus, AP Calculus AB, and Statistics. She is passionate about sharing creative and hands-on teaching ideas with math teachers around the world through her blog, Math = Love.

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24 Comments

  1. Thank you so much for your blog! I am a new high school math teacher this year… teaching Algebra 2 and Honors Algebra 2/Trig. I love reading your blog! I have gotten so many ideas from you on how to make my math class fun. Thank you for taking the time to do these posts. I look forward to reading your new posts and check back for them often! Can't wait to try the Zombie game. My competitive classes will love it!

    C

    1. You're welcome! The Zombie game is THE most requested game in my classroom. We haven't played it in a month or two, so I should probably make plans to think up a way to use it in the next few weeks.

  2. Sarah, Your blog is amazing! I just finishd teaching exponents in my 8th grade general classes (both inclusion) and wish I had the same superpower to erase how I introduced the rules. I taught the rules in isolation using discovery lessons and at times they had great discussion but lost it when we attempted to use multiple rules in one problem. What a disaster! After much frustration and reflection, I will try something different next year. Thanks for your insight.

    1. Thank you! I'm glad I'm not alone in my wish for that unique super power! 🙂

  3. I am finishing up exponents tomorrow in my Algebra 1B class and I taught it using an IMP unit called All about Alice. You use the movie Alice in Wonderland to teach the exponent rules. It's really cool and this is my second time teaching it. The kids like it a lot and we get to watch the movie too. I do a portfolio instead of a test. I also put in some basic exponent worksheets so they get to practice without doing any "Alice" work and after they turn their portfolios in I give a big quiz over the basic exponent problems. If you ever get a chance to check it out, please do, it's great and sounds like it would be right up your alley!

    2. Sounds interesting! I'm going to check this out this summer! Thanks for sharing!

    3. Can you email me the info on this, it's sounds really interesting? My email is k.pittinaro[at]gmail.com

    1. Thanks for the comment, Nathan! I actually submitted a proposal and will be presenting at TMC. And, I'm pretty excited about it! I can't wait to meet all the amazing bloggers I've been stealing ideas from for years.

      The Zombie game is by far my students' favorite game this year. They ask to play it at least once a week. I've even started putting it in my lesson plans as "Zombie Game." My principal probably thinks I'm crazy…

  5. I just tried the game with my class today. I used it as a filler because we just had a test and I don't have them again until the middle of next week. I decided that since we're starting to review Laws of Exponents next, I'll play the game with all sorts of math problems and throw in some exponent rule ones as well. They all really enjoyed it, but some girls (they're all girls) kept saying when they went up to the board to erase x's, "This is really not nice." It was so cute! Thanks so much for the enjoyable experience that required minimal preparation on my part!

  6. My question is when someone becomes a "zombie" what are the expectations you give them? or what is their role? I know they can still answer questions. Is there anything special the zombie does? Does the last human win?

    1. Zombies still participate in EVERYTHING. They just can't "win." The last human wins.

  7. For every question, do you let only one student rub the crosses off? What do you do/say when more than one get the answer right?

    1. Each person who got the answer right got to rub a cross off. If multiples do, multiples get to rub a cross off.

  8. Do you happen to have the cards you used for the Karuta game available for download? I would love to try that game next week! Thanks for all you do with your blog! It is so helpful to me. I always check it before I begin a new unit. This is only my 2nd year teaching JH Math and Algebra I (I was lower elementary before), so I can use all the help I can get!!!

  9. Where can I find the template for the exponent book? Looks much more engaging than taking notes off the board.

  11. hey,thanks for the pictures of rules as it can help me for making projet on topic powers and exponents as i m 8th class school boy

  12. Do you have a link or copy of the flash cards that you used for your matching activity with rules of exponents?

  14. Good afternoon Sarah! I absolutely love your blog! I played this for the first time today and the kids really liked it, but I had a couple of questions. How do you keep kids from changing their answers while you are checking if they are correct? How do you keep kids positive with their comments and participation in the game if they get their x's crossed out?

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