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Expanding brackets – Year 9 maths lesson

Lesson 28 of 38 in the Year 9 maths course

UK version. UK school years, UK spelling and pounds (£). · US Math Department

A complete 45-minute lesson for Year 9 (ages 13–14) that runs on this page – at school or at home. Every answer is marked straight away, with a worked explanation.

Time
45 minutes + 20 min homework
Year
Year 9 (ages 13–14)
You need
Paper, a pencil and this page
Marked
Instantly, with explanations

For parents: how to use this lesson

You don't need to know this topic yourself. The lesson explains each step on screen, one tidy step at a time. Every answer is marked straight away with a worked explanation, so you never have to mark anything.

  1. Read what your child will learn and the big ideas together.
  2. Press Start the lesson below and sit with your child for the teaching and the worked examples (about 19 minutes).
  3. Let them do the practice on their own. They choose Getting started, On track or Challenge – start on On track and move up after a few right in a row.
  4. Finish with the exit ticket and the talk question: “Why is (x + 3)² not equal to x² + 9? Use a diagram.”
  5. Later that day or the next day: the homework (20 minutes), then a practice test.

Watch out for

  • Only multiplying the first term (3(x + 4) = 3x + 4). Draw arrows from the outside to every term inside.
  • Getting (x + 3)² = x² + 9. Write it as (x + 3)(x + 3) and use a grid: x² + 6x + 9.

Tip for home: Use the area of a garden split into parts to show expanding brackets.

What your child will learn

We are learning to multiply out brackets, including double brackets.

Success looks like

  • I can expand a single bracket.
  • I can expand double brackets.
  • I can expand and simplify.

Key words

expand
multiply out
bracket
groups terms together
binomial
an expression with two terms
like terms
terms that can be collected

What to have ready

  • Paper and a pencil
  • This page on a computer, tablet or phone
  • For the hands-on part: Draw a rectangle split into parts to show 3(x + 4) as an area.

The big ideas (for the adult)

To expand a bracket, multiply every term inside by the term outside: 3(x + 4) = 3x + 12.

For double brackets, multiply each term in the first bracket by each term in the second, then collect like terms. A grid helps.

Watch the signs: −2(x − 5) = −2x + 10.

The lesson, step by step

45 minutes in 5 parts
PartTimeHow it is checked
Starter: quick recall5 minMarked by Classfern
Teaching input10 minNot assessed, self-checked
Worked examples and guided practice9 minNot assessed, marked by Classfern
Independent practice15 minMarked by Classfern
Plenary and exit ticket6 minMarked by Classfern, self-checked

Starter, "your turn", practice and exit ticket are marked by Classfern. Worked examples and teaching are not assessed. The hands-on task and the reflection are self-assessed. Explanations in talk are judged by the parent and not recorded.

The lesson

It runs here on the page. No sign-up and no names – progress is kept only in this browser.

Homework and practice at home

20 minutes: 10 practice questions, 3 multiple-choice questions and 2 to remember from earlier work, then a short reflection. New questions every time, all marked instantly.

More practice

All Year 9 maths lessons and tests · Maths Department

More Year 9 maths lessons

Curriculum

National Curriculum for England, Year 9: “expanding products of 2 or more binomials”

National Curriculum for England, Year 9: “model situations or procedures by translating them into algebraic expressions or formulae and by using graphs”

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Our lessons and questions are our own. They are not written or endorsed by any government department, testing agency or exam board.