Here is the first one I did with my first block geometry class.
Students had several reasons why they chose their particular shape.
- "I think it is the hexagon since all of the other figures are triangles."
- "I think that it's the shaded in triangle because all of the others are not shaded in."
- I think that it is the triangle in the upper left hand corner because it looks smaller."
This allowed for my students to be able to justify and defend their answers. I told students beforehand that there was not one right or wrong answer as long as they could justify their answers.
I then gave this problem to my Algebra II class.
Here are some of the students' thoughts.
- I think that it is 9 because it is the only single digit number.
- I think that it is 43 because it is the only prime number.
- I think that it is 16 because it is the only even number.
- I think that it is 43 because 9, 16, and 25 are all perfect squares.
- I think that it is 43 because you can take the square root of 9, 16, and 25 and get a whole number
I want to say that I had so much success with this activity that I will definitely plan on using it again I even did a tweet out to the Math Twitter Blogosphere about it :)
So I encourage you to use this activity with your students. The website is Which One Doesn't Belong?
So, with that, I hope you have a great rest of your Thanksgiving Holiday and rest up strong for three more weeks until the Christmas/Winter Break!!!
I just recently started the WODB activity with my Grade 6 Special Education math students. We also started with the first shape set. It was very interesting to hear them talk about their ideas--and it was really 'freeing' for them to know up front that I didn't have a 'right' or 'wrong' answer. They were able to share their ideas in a safe place and are learning to talk together about math in a way they haven't before.
ReplyDeleteHi Melissa! I found about WODB at the NCTM Conference in Nashville. I plan on using it a lot more next semester. I had never thought about that perspective of it being "freeing" for students because there is not necessarily a right or wrong answer. I was proud of my kids when we did this. I may have to write a blog post about it next semester with some more student thoughts. Thanks for commenting!
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