Clip 3/7: Standard 4: Model with Mathematics Using Linear Functions Introduction
Overview
Mathematically proficient students can apply the mathematics they know to solve problems arising in everyday life, society, and the workplace. In middle grades, a student might apply proportional reasoning to plan a school event or analyze a problem in the community. They are able to identify important quantities in a practical situation and map their relationships using such tools as ...tables.... They can analyze those relationships mathematically to draw conclusions.
Cecilio Dimas leads a lesson on making comparisons between three different financial plans, helping students use multiple representations of mathematical problems: verbal, tabular, graphical, and algebraic generalization. In this clip, Dimas connects to the prior day’s lesson, in which the class “started a conversation about the economic status of our world [and] about making responsible decisions when we’re spending our money.” His students share that they were to represent various DVD rental plans using verbal and tabular representations.