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with Kim Rodgers Always Seven? Students were yet again challenged by Professor Arbegla this week! She shared with us her T-chart showing that whatever number she put into the Fabulous Function Machine, a seven would always come out. Even when she entered zero and 1⁄2! We discussed how our Algebra Tool Kit would be helpful in tackling this challenge. To begin with, students spread out on their own around the room in order to try their hand at it. After a few minutes many students were still stumped. I went around asking each student how getting the number down to zero might help the process. Many students picked up on the fact that when the initial number entered into the machine was brought down to zero they could easily add seven. Soon after this discovery, they began pairing up and sharing more ideas. I was just about to pull the class back together, when I noticed that pairs of students were joining other pairs to share even more ideas! It was like once they found one rule the floodgates opened and many more ideas came out! I was so proud of the students who went out on a limb to try a new idea, even if it needed tweaking. The students saw that even if an idea didn’t fully work that we could change a thing or two in order to be able to use it. It’s all a part of the process. In two weeks I will be introducing a new machine that contains different challenges for the students to solve. I look forward to seeing what they come up with! 
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