The studentsdescribe two methods, in words and in writing, for finding the area of the new garden when both the length and width of the original garden are increased by the same unknown number of meters.
Episode Supports
Students’ Conceptual Challenges
In this episode, both Mauricio and Emily initially struggle to write in words a general method for finding the area. They seem to want to jump straight to using symbols or variables. If your students feel similarly, encourage and support them in doing this important work of generalizing, which is expressing with words a method or pattern that you can use to form an expression or equation.
Focus Questions
For use in a classroom, pause the video and ask this question:
[Pause the video at 5:50] Before hearing how Emily and Mauricio describe another way to find the area using Mauricio’s method, what do you predict they will say or write based on what you know about Mauricio’s method?
Supporting Dialogue
[Pause the video at 1:57] Tell your partner using words, and not symbols, a method you would use for finding the area of the new garden when the length and width are each increased by some unknown number.
