When Math and Identity Work Side By Side--Necessary Conditions

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 This is a heartwarming story. We don't get to tell them often enough. 

I used Geoff Krall's (Author of Necessary Conditions) Where Does a Letter Occur in a Word matching activity as a soft open to our after mid-winter break first day back in my small 9th grade Math class. 

From Geoff: Think about the letter y:




I followed up this with his next question: Think about Q. List all the words you can think of that have the letter q: (perfect for a country where there is a mandatory 15 day quarantine for anyone arriving on island). 

Here is the student lists and distribution graphs:


During their thinking time, some whispering happened, Jose says "I don't think I can use that word." After some back and forth between the students, it is revealed that the q word is part of LGBTQ. I say sure it is legit! "Queer!"comes blurting out. Greta is right on it. "That is me Mon, " (yes, spelling is correct). "I am the B."
Greta gets a big hug from Elizabeth. We are all smiling and feeling good about our intersection of "mathing"and being safe.

Mind you this is a Caribbean Island that is very Christian. I am positively beaming from the courage, the opportunity, and the acceptance. This student feels safe in her little math community. 

Necessary Conditions: Heart open, math happening. 







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Hi there, I'm Amy! A high school math teacher, poet, crafter, athlete, and mom. This blog features both math and teaching strategies, as well as some of my favorite recipes and everyday triumphs and struggles. Thanks for stopping by, feel free to share on Twitter, Facebook, or email me if you have any questions!

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