Grade 6 Math PowerPoint: Algebraic Expressions (28 Slides)

About This Resource

A 28-slide teaching PowerPoint with speaker notes and click-to-reveal answers: Movie tickets, Key words, A variable is a number in a bag, How we write multiplication, Words → symbols and more.

Overview

Students learn that a variable is a letter that stands for a number that can change, so one expression can describe a whole pattern ("the cost is 3n + 2 dollars for n tickets"). They translate words into expressions, evaluate expressions by substituting values (with the order of operations), combine like terms, and use the distributive property to write equivalent expressions. Bags-and-cubes balance pictures and area models show WHY 3x + 5x = 8x and 3(x + 2) = 3x + 6, so students understand rather than memorize rules.

Resource Details

Subject: Math
Topic: Algebraic Expressions
Category: Problem Solving
File Type: PPTX
File Size: 172.1 KB
Published: 23 Oct 2026
Downloads: 0

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Lesson Sequence

Open in PowerPoint and start the slide show. Click to reveal each answer after students respond.
Read the speaker notes (View > Notes) for questions to ask and common mistakes.
Use with the lesson plan: it lists which slides belong to each lesson.

Classroom Activities

Bags and Cubes (12 minutes, Pairs): Student A secretly puts the same number of cubes in each bag. They show some bags and loose cubes, e.g. 2 bags + 3 cubes.
Expression Bingo (12 minutes, Whole class): Students write 9 numbers from 1 to 30 in a 3 × 3 grid. The teacher says an expression and a value, e.g. "3n + 2 when n = 4".
Equivalent or Not? (10 minutes, Small groups): Each group gets a pair, e.g. 3(x + 1) and 3x + 1. They test with 3 different numbers.

Teacher Tips

Use the "number in a bag" image all unit — it makes like terms obvious. Always check equivalent expressions by testing a number.

Learning Objectives

Explain what a variable is and read expressions such as 3n + 2 (3n means 3 × n).
Write expressions from words, including "more than", "less than", "times" and "divided by".
Evaluate expressions by substituting values, using the order of operations.
Simplify expressions by combining like terms.
Use the distributive property to write equivalent expressions, and check them with numbers.

Differentiation

Support: Use real bags and cubes for every expression. Challenge: Write an expression for the perimeter of a rectangle with sides (x + 3) and 2x, and simplify. English language learners: Teach operation words with a table and gestures.

Assessment

Exit tickets in each lesson. Worksheet Parts A–E with the answer key. Quick Quiz (9 marks) after lesson 2. Unit Test (28 marks) at the end. Homework after each lesson. Performance task (rubric): "Price Plans" — write, evaluate and compare expressions for two real price plans.