Level 1 focused mainly on solving one-step equations using addition and subtraction.
Level 2 was still on one-steps with multiplication and division.
I will extend Level 2 to include solving two-step equations before moving on and allowing students to play the game again.
Within Level 2, our focus was again on the Property of Equality and the Multiplicative Inverse and Identity Properties.
I was pleased to hear in one class, as we were talking about this, they remembered a problem that would have looked like -1(0)(2)(n)/(-1)(2)(n) had we converted the shapes/colors into numbers. One student had found a more efficient way to solve that problem instead of dividing like terms, they essentially just tapped the swirling vortex (0) and everything disappeared. Without even knowing it, they had discovered the Property of Zero!
Moving forward is a good thing. If you don't move, you become stagnant. If you become stagnant, you smell. (I'm going with a creek bed analogy here...stay with me). "It Is What It Is" helps us to keep our sanity as we try new things, but at the same time we should never settle for "what it is". We should constantly reflect and learn to move our teaching and our student's learning to higher levels so the classroom doesn't turn stale.
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