Good at Math® First Grade Unit 4: Equality, Equations, and Algebraic Thinking

Good at Math® First Grade is a 12 unit 1st Grade math curriculum for classroom and homeschool learning environments. Each unit comes with detailed daily lesson plans, posters, teaching tools, anchor chart elements, games, center materials, independent practice, no prep printables, end of unit assessment, a Mini PBL unit, and bonus practice materials for additional skill exposure. The detailed lesson plans include a title, postable lesson goal, lesson materials list, warm up fluency practice that spirals, direct teaching, group/tandem practice that includes hands on and movement based skill practice, individual/partner/small group exploration, center activities, individual practice, and national first grade standard alignment. Good at Math® is a comprehensive curriculum designed by a veteran teacher, tested, tweaked, and perfected through countless years of use and hundreds of students taught. The lessons and materials are designed using Universal Design for Learning to best meet the needs of a diverse student population.

Unit 4: Equality, Equations & Algebraic Thinking builds a strong foundation for understanding how numbers relate to one another through equations and the concept of equality. Students develop a deep understanding of the equal sign as meaning “the same as,” and learn to determine whether equations are balanced or unbalanced using models, drawings, and reasoning. They explore missing numbers in all positions and build flexible strategies to find unknowns in both addition and subtraction equations, including counting on, counting back, and using related facts. Students also compare equations, solve equation-based word problems, and defend their mathematical thinking by explaining and justifying their reasoning. Throughout the unit, students engage with hands-on manipulatives, balance models, number lines, and meaningful math discussions to strengthen conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills. This unit contains 12 lessons, a wide range of center activities, strategy-based practice tasks, no prep practice, and fluency-building opportunities designed to reinforce and extend learning. An end of unit assessment is included to help inform instruction, intervention, and next steps.

In Good at Math® First Grade, each unit ends with a mini Project Based Learning unit that spans multiple days and requires students to use all skills gained within the unit to solve a real world problem and/or contribute to their community in a meaningful way. All planning, execution, and reflection pages are included as well as a full, detailed unit plan. 

With Good at Math® you can take the guesswork out of your math block and know that you are providing a developmentally appropriate and sequenced math program for your learners.

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Good at Math® First Grade is a growing curriculum with 1-2 units published each month and an estimated final publishing date of December 2026. 

Good at Math® First Grade units include: 

Unit 1: Numbers to 120
Unit 2: Comparing, Ordering, and Relationships Between Numbers
Unit 3: Addition & Subtraction Strategies within 20
Unit 4: Equality, Equations, and Algebraic Thinking
Unit 5: Addition & Subtraction in Word Problems within 100
Unit 6: Addition & Subtraction within 100
Unit 7: Measurement & Length
Unit 8: Telling Time Pt2 (Continuation from GAM Kindergarten Unit 14)
Unit 9: Data, Graphs, & Analyzation
Unit 10: Money Pt2 (Continuation from GAM Kindergarten Unit 13)
Unit 11: Geometry & Spatial Reasoning
Unit 12: Fractions & Equal Shares