What if you wanted to learn more about incorporating What if…? into your mathematics teaching routine. You’re in the right place. Below, you will find some resources to help you get started. Click here to share your thoughts or ask a question.

You’ll need to start with a rich task. I’ve listed some other great resources for these types of problems at the end of this post. Below you will find some structures to use to support students as they begin to think in terms of What if…?

• Table (template and examples)

• Concept Map (template and examples)

• Editable Table (Google Doc)
• Editable Concept Map (Google Doc)

Helpful tips:

• Provide students with time to think privately about one of the questions in the template.
• Provide students with time to talk with a partner/group about their What if…? ideas.
• When it’s time to share as a class, be patient. It may take a minute to get sharing started – especially if this is the first experience with What if…?

Other resources for rich tasks:

• Graham Fletcher – K-5
• Robert Kaplinsky – K-12
• Math for Love – K-10
• NRICH Maths – K-12
• YouCubed – K-12

Share your experiences, questions, and comments about using What if…?. Keep the conversation going.