Math Language Routine 7: Pair & Compare

Speaker: Pair and compare is an interactive way to get students to look across platforms and not just focus on one problem at a time. Here’s how it works:

When students have a problem set, ask them to find two problems that are similar or different in some way. This is their problem pair.

Then, have them meet up with a partner and they have to try to guess what it was about the problems that made the other student select them as a pair. Whether they focus on surface features or deeper insights, it is all welcome, and this routine gives students opportunities to talk about mathematical structure and express their own personal ways of looking at the problems, rather than just talking about the solutions.

Now go ahead and give Pair and Compare a try!