Activator

Type
ENGAGE

Description
A question or puzzle is posed for the whole class to consider. Generally, more open-ended, thought-provoking types of questions are better for this activity, ones which generate multiple ideas and potential arguments and, on a good day, impassioned debate.

Purpose
To set the tone at the beginning of class. To help guide students toward a frame of mind conducive for the learning experience that will follow.

Range
Grades K+

Fruitility
Students, like most people, enjoy puzzles, and puzzles are a fun way to start a class meeting. These activities can be used to hook interest, foreshadow lesson content, or review previous content before moving on. They can, and should, be light-heated, low-risk, engaging activities that foreground curiosity as an element in the learning landscape.

Features
I've named this kind of activity //Spark// because I like to think of it as something that sets off sparks in our minds. //Spark// has no template, which helps to both keep things lively and to create an atmosphere in which anything goes in terms of what is worthwhile for us to think about as mathematicians. For example, in our study of angles, //Spark// stories have included images of a sea star (the same photo that students recently discussed in their science class) and a table whose steel legs form the letters NY. **Activators** can be made to suit a variety of time constraints and reasoning targets.