Hi {{custom.firstName}},

 

Welcome to Unit 4! Before we get going, please help us out with some feedback on Unit 3.

 

Now let’s think more about teacher moves that invite student thinking, that put students at ease and free them to bring their early and contextual knowledge, and use it to make everyone smarter.

 

Many students are so nervous about math class. Nervous about doing or saying the wrong thing. Nervous about looking or feeling dumb. Here’s something we’ve found very helpful to say to students.

 

You can’t break math.

For example, on the warm-up in Keep It Balanced, you can encourage students by saying “Just play with it. You can’t break math. It’ll balance or it won’t. Just play with it. Try something that’ll help you learn something.”

By making sure students understand they can’t break math, or the hangers, you’ll make sure they can relax, put up their feet, and bring more of themselves and their thinking to your math class.

 

Have a fantastic lesson!

 

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.

Powhatan, VA

 

Spend time nudging students from guess and check methods into solving moves. Students were happy to guess and check early, and moving them into eliminating like terms from each side to isolate an unknown was not as automatic as anticipated.

 

Springfield, MO

 

Take it one slide at a time and share an elimination strategy. Many of my kids initially guessed and needed help with a strategy.

 

Chicago, IL

 

Pause a lot. Hold whole class discussions a lot.

 

Eagle, CO

 

Slide 4 was powerful and important, make sure kids share multiple ways to think about the three correct hangers.