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Lesson Planning Sheet Title: Simplifying Algebraic Fractions Learning Objectives: By the end of the lesson: All students should be able to simplify an algebraic fraction involving linear terms. Most students should be able to simplify algebraic fractions involving linear and quadratic terms in the form where by factorising. Some students should be able to simplify algebraic fractions involving quadratics in the form where . Key words: Algebraic Fraction, Factorise, Simplify, Highest Common Factor Learning Activities Starter/Introduction The starter is intended to recap factorising and expanding expressions with linear and quadratic terms since this is an essential skill when simplifying algebraic fractions. Students could work in pairs on a single mini-whiteboard that is to be presented at the end for assessment and feedback. Ensure students have a secure understanding of the difference of two squares and factorising quadratics in general before moving on to the main development phase. Development Discuss with the students the idea behind simplifying an ordinary fraction such as, be written as products of common factor pairs, Resources: Mini-whiteboards

, which can

. The common factor 3 is then cancelled to

make . The same idea is applied to algebraic fractions with the only difference being that to find the common factor we often need to factorise the numerator and or denominator. . Work through the following examples with the students having them attempt a few questions on mini-whiteboards that are presented to the teacher for assessment and feedback before proceeding onto the third slide where they should be expected to work through independently. To check their answers a number could be substituted into the original fraction and its simplified counterpart to check the outputs are equal. Plenary The plenary is intended to be a similar exercise as the starter in order to show progress. There are various levels of difficulty within the fractions to ensure assessment is made against each differentiated learning objective. Have matching pairs presented on mini-whiteboards to ensure assessment and feedback. Differentiation More able: Students could factorise fractions involving cubic and quadratic terms. Less Able Students may need to spend additional time practising factorising linear and quadratic expressions.