Try...Check....Revise (Math 1512)

I am infamous for the saying "If at first you don't succeed, try...and then try again!"  I have worked with children in childcare settings for 12 of the last 13 years and my goal was to always make the best big people out of the little people I blessed to share time with.  Part of achieving this goal was to make them independent thinkers.  While it often seems easier to just "do it for them," in the long run kids do not benefit from this.  Children need to learn that with success comes failure and many times there will be several failures before finally succeeding.  The most basic situation I can think of is completing puzzles with toddlers.  Little kids LOVE to dump out puzzles, and then when the pieces do not easily go back into place chances are they will walk away.  I loved to sit with my little ones and "coach" them through reassembling the puzzle.  "Turn this piece...oops! , try again, ok...now try this piece here, wow...good job! "  Now, how does any of this pertain to our math lesson???
Try...Check....Revise!
*Use the given facts to try and check one answer. Then revise and try again until you solve the problem.  "If at first you don't succeed, try...and then try again!"  

-Solving Linear Equations (equations where the value of y is known, they can be associated with linear functions)  Try-Check-Revise is relatively efficient when the numbers in the equation are integers.  The equation 12x + 35 = 131 can be solved using try-check-revise.

To begin, use number sense to estimate the solution.  For this particular problem one may estimate the solution to be 10.  Substitute 10 for x,

12(10) + 35= 155, since 155 is greater than 131, the actual solution must be less than 10. "Try again!"  

After a couple more attempts the solution proves to be 8.... 12(8) + 35 = 96 + 35 = 131 

A spreadsheet can also be used to solve linear equations, and it provides a high-speed application of the try-check-revise strategy.  This approach also starts by using number sense and estimation to think of a reasonable range for the solution.  This independent thinking gives students the opportunity to "attempt" to solve the equation based off of their number sense and then be willing to continue problem solving until the correct solution is found.  This was a fun web site that I found dealing with linear equations....lots of opportunity to Try-Check-Revise! Cool Math- Linear Equations