Expanding Single Brackets
Expand (multiply out) a single term over a bracket using the distributive property, e.g., 3(2x + 5) = 6x + 15; expand expressions involving negative multipliers
Lesson
Set out your lesson
Multiply every term in one bracket. Keep each sign, then collect like terms.
Before teaching
Use this short check, then start teaching.
Ask the learner to simplify 2x + 3x and to explain why x + 3 cannot be collected. Expect 5x; x and a constant are different kinds of term. Revisit Collecting Like Terms if needed. Ask what 2x means. Expect 2 times x, not a two-digit number. Do not use speed as a readiness test.
Check readiness directly. Prerequisite availability is not attainment.
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Multiply every term in one bracket. Keep each sign, then collect like terms.
Multiply every term in one bracket. Keep each sign, then collect like terms.
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Learning resources
Extra practice links — they do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.
Illustrative Mathematics · Practice link — not the full lesson
Peyton and Presley Discuss Addition
Before you open · source notes
Peyton and Presley Discuss Addition supports expanding single brackets. Not every worksheet pack.
Free, no sign-in. A teacher solution is on the same page, so use the student view with your child.
Before you openAsk the learner to explain one step of “Peyton and Presley Discuss Addition” in their own words.
Opening this link does not save learning or assess mastery.
Source, access and review notes
Public Illustrative Mathematics task page. The .html address responds HTTP 308 to this URL. An anonymous GET of this URL on 2026-11-12 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt. Where a teacher solution is present, it is on the same page as the student task; this check did not find a separate locked student view. An adult can use the student view section and should not read a solution aloud. Advertising was not observed in the fetched HTML text; that is not a browser, device, or ad-free guarantee. This is a paper or discussion task, not an automatically marked interactive game. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. Diagrams on the page use missing or filename-only alt text, so they are not an accessible image equivalent. Accessibility still depends on an adult describing the picture.
Illustrative Mathematics. “Peyton and Presley Discuss Addition.” Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. External task; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute it.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — link only
Check understanding
- Multiply a single positive term over a bracket to expand the expression
- Multiply a negative term over a bracket, correctly handling signs
- Combine expanding brackets with collecting like terms to simplify fully
“Can your child expand a bracket like 3(2x + 5) by multiplying everything inside, to get 6x + 15?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Procedural
- Subject
- Mathematics
- Domain
- Algebra
- Age range
- Ages 11–13
Standards