Making Squares

This week my math classes have been collaborating and solving different problems. On this day, students were put into groups and given 5 envelopes. Each envelope contained some of the pieces needed to make 5 squares, all the same size. 

For the first 5 minutes, they were not allowed to talk each other or ask in any way for a puzzle piece. Students had to offer pieces when they thought their piece might help another student. After the 5 minutes were up, the students were able to talk freely.

When we debriefed, students found that making the squares went more quickly when they all worked together, could talk out their ideas, and continually revised their ideas. These are all practices we will be working on this year during math.