For every accident there are three truths...the story of driver 1, the story of driver 2, and what really happened.
To demonstrate where solving equations is used in the "real' world,
An officer from our local sheriff's department presented how math is essential for finding the third truth of an accident.
This lesson was at the end of the solving equations unit.
Students had already learned all the components of solving algebraic equations.
However, I could see this being an excellent intro piece as well to introduce the order of operations and how the algebraic rules help us solve for the missing unknowns.
This lesson also lent itself really well to developing the math practices.
1. Models - neat diagrams of the accident to model what happened
2. Precision - Using correct labels
3. Justification - showing math work helps to justify what he claims to have happened in the accident
Writing is also a powerful piece to this lesson, as he stated he had to write in complete sentences and paragraphs when making his report.
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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