Hi {{custom.firstName}},

 

My favorite moments in this program are ones that invite lots of student thinking and give you lots of ways to celebrate and develop that thinking.

 

By the time students reach this screen, they’ll have spent time thinking about lines with positive and negative slopes and lines that are vertical and horizontal.

A screen from Coin Capture.

Students can solve it with any combination of those lines, and it’s so interesting to see which combination students choose.

 

Some students stay with vertical lines. Others with horizontal lines.

Students solving the screen with vertical and horizontal lines.

Some students feel confident mixing lines.

Students solving the screen with a combination of lines.

All of us are smarter than any one of us.

Consider using the snapshot tool to select each of those responses and sharing them. “These each work!” you can say. “I’d love to think with you about how they’re different from each other.”


Out of all the classroom discussions I have led, the ones that seemed the most interesting and productive to students were the ones where I celebrated their thinking rather than only sharing my own. I can’t wait to hear if you experience the same.

 

Have a blast!

 

Dan & the Desmos Classroom Team

PS. Please give us feedback on the last lesson.

Use the feedback form or just click your answer below then click "Submit" on the form!

 

How likely is it that you would recommend this lesson to a friend or colleague?

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Great advice from other teachers.

Baltimore, MD

 

After allowing my students time for productive struggle, I told them the number of equations each problem could be solved in. I think by doing this it challenged my students to think and they were able to eventually arrive at the correct equations.

 

Toronto, Ontario


On Screen 5, definitely take a moment to hear suggestions on how students wanted to tackle this one. Suggestion: "Can you discuss for a moment with your partners and showcase with hands and fingers where you might want the line." Follow that up with a reminder of y=mx+b format because it has been a while.

 

Springfield, MO

 

Make sure to watch [student activity] Screen 5 to ensure that kids are not only graphing using horizontal and vertical lines. I had to provide some assistance and then I told [my students] that the fewest [number of] lines was four and I tried to see if kids could find it in less than four. That also caused some kids to try different equations.

 

West Chester, PA


If you are in 45-minute periods, this is one to [invest] a day and a half –students loved the class gallery and it really helped solidify their understanding and bring together their work with y=mx+b as well.

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