That means he only has $18 to really spend. When working with inequality symbols and problems, it may be helpful to think about the biggest value and the smallest value. He needs to make sure that he has $2 left over to pay back his friend. Jeff has $20 in his pocket and wants to buy a present for his sister. This would mean that there would be a need to use two symbols. There are many different situations in which a range of values would be acceptable. This means that the amount of juice is greater than or equal to zero as well as less than or equal to 12 cups!Ġ cups ≤ amount of juice ≤ 12 cups Combining Symbols Remember that pitcher that hols 12 cups of juice? We know that 12 cups is the greatest amount it can hold, but what is the least amount? It can have no juice in the pitcher. We can use the previous examples to show this. However, you can use more than one symbol to indicate a range. What About Zero?Īs you learn about inequality symbols you often use one at a time. The phrase “at least” is commonly used when working with greater than or equal to. If you are shorter, or less than 4 feet tall you are not allowed to ride. If you are 4 feet tall you can ride the ride and if you are taller you may ride. Using the symbols it would look like this: Plus, how saying “times” when teaching multiplication confuses students, and what to say instead.If you have ever been on a roller coaster ride or been to an amusement park you may have seen a sign that said “You must be at least 4 feet tall to ride this ride”. “Four is greater than eleven” doesn’t make sense, and it is recognizing that error that gives greater than and less than its instructional power.ĭo you agree that students often have trouble with these particular symbols? What tips do you have for teaching greater than/less than? Come and share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook. How will they know if they are reading it correctly? The numbers should be in the correct order (unlike 4 < 11 read as “eleven is greater than four”), and the number sentence should make sense. Then it is a matter of practice with reading the inequalities aloud, to teachers, classroom partners, and parents. Second, students should read the whole inequality, naming numbers and symbols left to right, like they would read any sentence. If they forget which is which, I like to point out that the less than symbol makes an L. This is actually a simple, and more fruitful, switch.įirst, explicitly teach that the symbols have names. Tips for teaching greater than/less than (without the alligator mouth) Taken with a pair of numbers, the greater than and less than symbols form “inequalities,” a fundamental way of explaining the relationship between two numbers. We have the opportunity to teach how the language of all math works.
Of course, this becomes a problem when kids have to graph inequalities in middle school or to reason what -2 4 might mean. Instead they are only taught how they function, with the “alligator mouth” opening to the larger number. Yet, students are often not taught that the greater than and less than symbols have meaning and can be replaced with words when reading a number sentence.
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