Update

Sorry it's been a little over a month! The mid winter-recess break was in mid-February and I was away in San Francisco unable to post. Shortly after, I was in a complicated situation and ended up losing someone that I loved. The kids have been questioning why I look so sad lately, but I have to be strong as their teacher, for them and for me. I apologize for the lack of posts!

We have been learning about how to solve a one-step equation. I have not done a great job breaking this down for the kids in my past years of teaching, but this time I made it easier to understand by using NLVM's virtual algebra balance scale. It can be found here: http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_201_g_4_t_2.html?open=instructions

And it looks like the following:

Once kids understand the two goals/concepts of isolating the variable and balancing the equation, they can move onto abstractly solving one-step equations where the answer is not so obvious
(i.e. E + 350 = 592 or 5n = 625). So far they have done a good job, especially understanding key terms such as "isolate" and "inverse"