Teaching Tips: Harry the Substitute Teacher

Here are some Frame, Focus and Follow-up suggestions for using this video in a math lesson.

What is Frame, Focus and Follow-up?

Frame: Groups of objects can be arranged in different ways. For example, people arrange photos in photo albums in different ways. In mathematics we call an arrangement of objects in equal rows, an array. What kinds of things have you seen arranged in equal rows? When you look at these arrangements, does it relate to multiplication in any way?

Focus: As you watch this segment, look for all the different ways Harry’s class arranges the twenty-four desks. Use a paper and pencil to record all the different ways. Harry mentions the different factors of twenty-four. What do factors have to do with arranging the desks?

Follow Up: Describe the different ways in which the class arranged their desks. Why did Harry use multiplication equations to represent the different arrays? If you were given 30 chocolate candies and asked to put them in all the different arrays you could think of, how many ways do you think you could find?