These are the notes I wrote for adding and subtracting rational expressions last year in Algebra 2.
On the first page, I wanted to make the connection between rational expressions and fractions explicit, so I started with a reminder of how to add and subtract fractions. The two examples were chosen deliberately; the first only required changing the denominator on one fraction, while the other required changing both denominators. Students need to deal with both types of problems with rational expressions.
The next part introduced two simple problems, with only one denominator being changed between them. They are both problems that require simplifying, as I wanted to emphasize the need to do this from the start. (Students had already seen how to simplify rational expressions and stating excluded values.)
The next page was about finding the lowest common multiple. I had students use a strategy which emphasizes the definition of the LCM, having them multiply by factors so that the two expressions are the same.
And finally, a couple of examples putting all of this together.
