ANDE OER: Ridgeline

Goal

ANDE Ridgeline, the third mini-course, takes adult learners along a steady path, building foundational algebra skills using expressions, equations, and inequalities, step by step with real-world problems and visual models as guideposts.

Course Overview

ANDE Ridgeline guides adult learners toward understanding key algebra concepts like variable expressions, equations, inequalities, and the distributive property. Each lesson helps them gain confidence in symbolic reasoning, and see how algebra can be a powerful tool for solving everyday problems.

Aligned with NRS Levels 3 & 4 and CCRS Levels C–D (grades 6–8), and written for clarity and accessibility, meeting a Flesch Reading Ease score of 60–70 (grades 7–9);
Focuses on using algebra in real-life scenarios such as comparing amounts, budgeting, and interpreting relationships;
Emphasizes group discussion, flexible problem-solving strategies, and making sense of math in practical terms; and
Uses visual tools like number lines to help graph solution sets and explore algebraic ideas.

Lesson Overview

ANDE ridgeline contains 7 units:

Working with Variable Expressions: Learn to write and understand expressions using variables.
Equations in Context: Practice setting up and solving equations rooted in everyday situations.
Introduction to Inequalities: Explore how inequalities are used when comparing quantities.
The Distributive Property: Use the distributive property to simplify expressions and solve problems.
Solving One-Step Equations & Inequalities: Build confidence with basic algebraic processes.
Solving Two-Step Equations & Inequalities: Take algebraic problem-solving to the next level, using multiple steps.
Graphing Solution Sets on Number Lines: Visualize algebraic solutions and make sense of results.

License & Attribution

We’re sharing our content as Open Educational Resources (OER) using a Creative Commons BY NC 4.0 license.

Unless otherwise noted, content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY NC 4.0).