Do you have students who love learning with technology -- the more the lesson can feel like online gaming, the better? What about those tactile learners, who benefit from sorting, sifting, and organizing their thoughts with motion? The Financial Algebra Saving & Systems of Equations unit has both options available to teach the same set of exercises, letting you or your students select the option that's best for them. Navigate to Fin Alg Unit 3, and you'll find the first option, CARD SORT: Linear Equations in Standard Form. 

CARD SORT: Linear Equations in Standard Form

In the first tactile card sort you'll need to print and cut decks of cards for each student (that's a lot of decks) or for groups of students (probably the better choice, unless you have a super small class). We've made the cutting easy with equal sized cards so the materials prep shouldn't take too long. Here's a sample:

In Part I, they'll match the graph of a linear equation to that same equation written in standard form. In Part II, they'll match a word problem scenario to an equation written in standard form. It's a lot more fun to collaboratively sort the cards than to do those same problems in same-old, same-old worksheet format. 

DESMOS: Card Sort: Linear Equations in Standard Form

While that card sort happens on paper and is at the top right of the Math Activities in Unit 3, the corresponding Desmos activity is at the very bottom of the list. Students do the same exact thing, with the same exact graphs, equations, and scenarios, but now they're all digital with drag and drop card sorting on the Desmos platform instead. The benefits of using Desmos is you can watch the whole class in real-time on the teacher-facing side and see who's mastered it and who's struggling. The Desmos is set up so they do their drag and drop matching on the first slide, and then they advance to the next slide to see how many matches they have correct. 

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If you're interested in using Desmos Classroom but don't feel confident in how to run the Card Sort, they've got a great tutorial on this feature.  

A Second Set of Savings Card Sorts

If the Card Sorts sound fun to you or your students, there's a second set of them (also available on paper and on Desmos) about Graphing Systems of Equations. Instead of two separate rounds, this card sort is set up so that students match a scenario with a graph, a system of linear equations, and a solution. They'll end up with 16 cards sorted into 4 perfect groups of linear systems. Because these two Card Sort activities are in the Financial Algebra Savings unit, every scenario is themed around saving money, to reinforce not just algebra content but also saving concepts. It's the perfect blend of math and personal finance. You can find all this material on the Financial Algebra Course Savings page, which also includes 10 complete lesson guides and a unit test, too. 

Convenient Direct Links to Everything Mentioned Here

• CARD SORT: Linear Equations in Standard Form (paper form)
• DESMOS: Card Sort: Linear Equations in Standard Form (online version)
• CARD SORT: Graphing Systems of Equations (paper version)
• DESMOS: Graphing Systems of Equations with Savings Balances (online version)

About the Author

Jessica Endlich

When I started working at Next Gen Personal Finance, it's as though my undergraduate degree in finance, followed by ten years as an educator in an NYC public high school, suddenly all made sense.