Clip 16/21: Standard 7: Look for & Make Use of Structure Using Numeric Patterning Part C
Overview
Mathematically proficient students look closely to discern a pattern or structure. Young students, for example, might notice that three and seven more is the same amount as seven and three more, or they may sort a collection of shapes according to how many sides the shapes have. Later, students will see 7 × 8 equals the well remembered 7 × 5 + 7 × 3, in preparation for learning about the distributive property.
In the closure section of a number talk, Fran Dickinson works with his 5th/6th grade students to identify many different ways of representing the rule: x3 – 3, times 3 minus 3, 3x – 3. The students discuss the rule and the best way to represent it, making connections to their mathematics textbook in their conversations. This clip is also indicative of standard 3 (construct viable arguments & critique the reasoning of others), standard 6 (attend to precision), and standard 8 (look for & express regularity in repeated reasoning).