Check out this beautiful area model, {{custom.firstName}}!

A rectangle that's sliced into four smaller rectangles.

On this screen, we ask students not for their calculation of 2.3 * 1.6 (that's the next screen), but rather for their visualization of 2.3 * 1.6. You may find lots of different students contributing lots of different visualizations here, and I hope you'll highlight as many as you have time for.

Four students responses to a question.

All of us are smarter than one of us.

 

When you share all the different ways students decompose the rectangle to make life easier for themselves—students creating as many "easy" rectangles as they can—you'll likely help them understand several important ideas:

  1. We learn new math techniques and representations so they can make our lives easier, not harder.
  2. All of us are smarter than one of us.

Have a great day with your students!

 

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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