The Friday Fave is thinking about sequels this week.
Michael Fenton spoke about sequels a while back, and you should hear what he has to say on the matter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IreYFX6d3bg
Michael’s sequels are additional questions about a context within a lesson. And it is also worth thinking about when the next lesson ought to be a sequel to the current one.
Consider the case of Polygraph: Lines. Students play an engaging game that requires them to notice and discuss features of graphed lines for which they may not yet have words. As teacher, you introduce some of those words as the game moves along. But even if you don’t play Polygraph again, the game itself has created a rich space for asking additional questions, and for moving students further along in their mathematical journeys.
That’s where Polygraph: Lines, Part 2 comes in. In this sequel to the original Polygraph, students encounter increasing, decreasing, steepness, and intercepts in the context of thinking about situations that could arise in playing Polygraph.
Students sketch, write, and see each others’ responses in the service of better understanding the algebra of lines. All of it made possible by the original context of Polygraph. That’s what makes Polygraph: Lines, Part 2 this week’s Friday Fave.
And here are two more activities with sequels: