Algebra Cheat Sheet & Reference Sheet Maker

What makes a cheat sheet worth handing out

Three things, and the format the good ones converged on encodes all three. It fits on one page, because a two-page cheat sheet is a handout and gets filed rather than used. Every rule sits beside a worked example, because a rule in isolation is the thing the student already could not apply. And it ships in a blank version the student fills in during the unit, because writing it is most of what makes it findable later.

The ten sheets

• Order of Operations & Integer Rules (Grades 5–9) — The two things everything else in algebra is built on
• Fractions, Decimals & Percents (Grades 4–8) — Three ways of writing the same number
• Solving Equations & Inequalities (Grades 7–10) — Algebra 1 · unit reference
• Linear Functions & Graphing (Grades 8–10) — Algebra 1 · unit reference
• Exponents & Polynomials (Grades 8–10) — Algebra 1 · unit reference
• Factoring & Quadratics (Grades 9–11) — Algebra 1 · unit reference
• Geometry Formula Sheet (Grades 6–10) — Area, volume, angles and the Pythagorean theorem
• Word Problems — What the Words Mean (Grades 3–8) — Translating English into arithmetic
• Parts of Speech & Punctuation (Grades 4–9) — The rules that come up in every piece of writing
• Test-Taking Strategies (Grades 4–12) — What to do before, during, and when you are stuck

Using one as an anchor chart

Print at 100%, then enlarge on the copier to 141% twice to reach roughly A2. The one-column option is the one to enlarge — two columns at wall distance reads as a block of grey. The section headings are solid bars in the accent colour precisely so they survive the enlargement and a photocopy generation or two.

The whole algebra set in one file

The Algebra Reference Sheet Library is the six algebra sheets in course order, each in both versions, plus the geometry and word-problem sheets — one file to print once in August. This maker stays free. See the math reference section.