Evaluating Algebraic Expressions Worksheets

About this resource

Teaching students to put a number in for a letter and find the value, and need pages they can actually write on? This is a complete kit for one skill, written for grades 6 to 8. It starts with a page of worked examples and the order of operations, one step per line. Students then put in whole numbers, put in negative numbers, work with exponents, use the order of operations with numbers and with letters, handle two letters at once, turn words into expressions, solve four word problems, check an invented student's work for mistakes, and match answers on three cut-and-paste pages. Answer keys, a tracker, a class grid, a team note and a family page are included, so nothing has to be written from scratch.

EVERYTHING INSIDE (30 pages)

• 14 student pages in 9 page types: Worked Examples, Put the Number In (2 pages), Exponents, Order of Operations (2 pages), Two Letters, Words to Expressions, Word Problems, Find the Error (2 pages), and Cut and Paste (3 pages)
• 71 scored items on 13 pages
• 40 of those items have a dashed work space beside a big answer box (Put the Number In, Exponents, Order of Operations, Two Letters and Word Problems)
• 3 worked examples: whole numbers, negative numbers and an exponent
• 6 phrases to turn into expressions (such as "7 less than 3 times n"), each with a value to find
• 4 word problems that use a rule such as 15 + 4c, with the unit written out in words
• 5 pieces of an invented student's work to check: 3 have a mistake (adding before multiplying, reading 5n as the digits 5 and 4, and squaring a negative as if the sign were not part of the number) and 2 are right
• 24 cut-and-paste pieces on 3 pages (8 + 8 + 8): match values to expressions, match expressions to words, and sort by whether the value is below or above zero
• 3 answer keys that show the numbers put in, then the value, so you can see where a slip happened
• 1 tracker (page, page type, items right, date, notes) and 1 whole-class progress grid
• 1 team note (a hand-off page), 1 family page and 1 filled example (an invented student)
• 1 phrase bank (16 starters, including student sentence starters for explaining steps and finding an error), 1 binder cover and 6 divider tabs with a spine label to cut out
• Start Here and a how-to-read-a-page page

The Page Types

1. Worked Examples: the four steps of the order of operations, then three examples (whole numbers, negative numbers, an exponent), each shown one step at a time. Students keep it beside them for the other pages.

2. Put the Number In, 2 pages: 12 expressions, 6 with whole numbers and 6 with negative numbers, each with a work space and an answer box.

3. Exponents: 6 expressions with squares and cubes, including a negative number squared.

4. Order of Operations, 2 pages: 6 expressions with numbers only, then 6 with a letter, brackets and powers.

5. Two Letters: 6 expressions with two letters; both numbers are given.

6. Words to Expressions: 6 phrases; write an expression, then find its value at the number given.

7. Word Problems: 4 problems with a work space and a unit written in words.

8. Find the Error, 2 pages: an invented student, Priya, did 5 problems. Circle yes or no, write the right value, and explain one mistake in a 5-line ruled box.

9. Cut and Paste, 3 pages: find each value and paste it in its box (8 pieces, 2 are spares); paste each expression by the words that match it (8 pieces, 2 are spares); sort 8 expressions into "less than 0" and "greater than 0". The pieces touch edge to edge, so cutting is a few straight lines, and every piece is over an inch each way.

Built For The Student Holding The Page

A "My name" line, one short instruction, large type, and no cartoons, mascots or clip art. Nothing on a student page is written for an adult. Answer boxes are at least half an inch tall. Body text is 11 point or larger. The file prints clean in black and white.

Every Answer Checked Twice

Every expression and its value were put through two separate evaluators before the page was built, and the three worked examples, the printed substitution lines in the keys and the invented student's wrong answers were each checked the same way. Wherever a student picks among printed spots (the order of items, the order of the cut pieces, yes and no on Find the Error), the position of the right answer is checked so it never sits in the same spot three times in a row.

Invented Work, Standard Steps

Every expression, value and piece of student work is made up for this file. The order of operations is the standard classroom one. There is a blank line on the tracker for your own standard or wording.

Type In, Or Print

The name line, every answer box, every work space and every ruled box are type-in fields in any PDF reader: click one, type, then save. The same goes for the tracker, the class grid, the team note and the family page. This is a fillable PDF; it is not a Google Slides or PowerPoint file.

Who This Is For

Middle school math classes, special education and resource rooms working on the same skill, co-taught classes, and substitutes who need a lesson that is ready to hand out. Students in grades 6 to 8 who are learning to evaluate expressions, and older students who need the same steps again.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

A worksheet set with the record-keeping around it. It is not a timed test, a screener, a clinical tool, or a claim about any student's age or rate of progress. There is no IEP goal language or eligibility wording anywhere in the file.