Today we speak with Christina Michaels - a teacher for over 24 years from Tucson Arizona. Christina has just taken our online course The Concept Holding Your Students Back: Unlocking the Key Understanding of Proportional Reasoning and is implementing many of the strategies she has learned. The pebble in Christina’s shoe is around the question: “When is the right time to show my students a model that they can use to represent their thinking?” 

This is another  Math Mentoring Moment episode where we talk with a member of the Math Moment Maker Community who is working through struggles and together we brainstorm possible next steps and strategies to overcome them. 

You’ll Learn: 

• When is the right time to introduce that model for thinking;
• How do I push the complexity on a problem so students see the usefulness of the mathematics being learned; 
• What tasks are useful for teaching ratios and proportions; and, 
• How do I take my own learning on proportional reasoning to the next level so I can support my students. 

Resources: 

• Perfect Purple Paint I [Illustrative Mathematics Task]
• Perfect Purple Paint II [Illustrative Mathematics Task]
• Hot Chocolate [Make Math Moments 6 Day Problem Based Unit]
• The Concept Holding Your Students Back [Make Math Moments Course]

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Are you wondering how to create K-12 math lesson plans that leave students so engaged they don’t want to stop exploring your math curriculum when the bell rings? In their podcast, Kyle Pearce and Jon Orr—founders of MakeMathMoments.com—share over 19 years of experience inspiring K-12 math students, teachers, and district leaders with effective math activities, engaging resources, and innovative math leadership strategies. Through a 6-step framework, they guide K-12 classroom teachers and district math coordinators on building a strong, balanced math program that grows student and teacher impact. Each week, gain fresh ideas, feedback, and practical strategies to feel more confident and motivate students to see the beauty in math. Start making math moments today by listening to Episode #139: "Making Math Moments From Day 1 to 180.