To help Year 7 students understand inequalities, here are some simple strategies you can use.

What Are Inequalities?

First, let's make sure we know what inequalities are.

Inequalities use symbols like $>$, $<$, $\geq$, and $\leq$ to show how numbers compare to each other.

It’s a bit like the equals sign $=$, but instead of saying two things are the same, inequalities show if one number is bigger or smaller than another.

Using Number Lines

Next, we can use number lines to make this clearer.

For example, to show $x < 5$, draw a number line.

Put an open circle at the number 5. This means 5 is not included. Then, shade all the numbers to the left of 5. This shows that x can be any number smaller than 5.

Going Through Some Problems

Let’s look at a simple problem.

Try solving the inequality $2x + 3 > 7$.

Teach students how to find x step by step:

1. Start by subtracting 3 from both sides: $2x > 4$.
2. Next, divide by 2: $x > 2$.

Now they’ve found that x is greater than 2!

Practice Time!

Keep practicing with worksheets.

You can add word problems like: "A number is greater than 10."

These will help students see how inequalities work in real life.

With these strategies, students can feel more confident in solving inequalities!