Lesson: Animal-Helping Video Game

Play the video “What You Need to Know About Code.” Then, before or after reading the article, spark a discussion based on the following questions:

• What are some of your favorite gaming apps or board games? Why?
• How do you think a virtual gaming world is created?
• Other than writing computer code, how might video game developers use math?

• Display or write the following expression: 2 × 8 + 4
• This is an expression. What makes this mathematical phrase different from an equation? (It does not include an equal sign.)
• What is the value of this expression? How do you know? (20; by following the order of operations, you first multiply
  2 by 8 and then add 4.)
• Could you replace the 4 in this expression with different numbers and operators to arrive at the same total value?
  (Yes; answers will vary. Possible answers: 3 + 1, 2 × 2, etc.)
• Play the instructional video “Intro to Expressions.”

• What operation does each command represent? (SUM+: addition, MIN–: subtraction, DIV/: division, MULx: multiplication)
• What does SOLVE= represent? (equal sign)
• Can you use the commands to write the expression in more than one way? Explain. (Yes, answers will vary.)
• Write another set of DynaMath+ commands that will result in the same value as the expression used in the example. Allow volunteers to share their code commands with the class.   

Have students complete problems 1 through 4 on page 11 of the article.

Skills Sheets: Level Down: Matching Words With Expressions (5.OA.A.2; 5.4F) | On Level: DynaDash: Writing and Solving Numerical Expressions (5.OA.A.2; 5.4F) | Level Up: Writing Equivalent Expressions (5.OA.A.1; 5.4F)

SEL (Social-emotional learning activity/prompt): The boy in this article demonstrated how he turned a negative experience (his trip being canceled because of Covid-19) into a positive one (he discovered a fun game that taught him about conservation). Have students write a journal entry about a positive experience that resulted from a time when something initially went wrong or was challenging.

Dynamath@Home: Have students use different symbols to create their own codes for numbers 0 through 9. Then have them write 4 expressions using their codes. They can solve their codes and then challenge a family member to solve them.