the class was viewing, stating, “The lines could have been diagonal in
instructions, to our trained artists who then had to interpret and
quadrant I, instead of horizontal.” Another student offered, “And the
create our concept using simple supplies such as rulers, crayons, and
bands in the bottom two quarters could have been more or less
markers as follows:
steep…I mean, have different slopes.”
1. Outline each of the four quadrants in black.
2. In Quadrant I, graph red and yellow lines with a slope of 2.
3. In Quadrant II, graph green lines with a zero slope and with odd yintercepts.
4. In Quadrant III, graph orange lines of varying slope, but with the
same y-intercept.
5. In Quadrant IV, graph the line y = -(3/2)x - 4 in blue, and the line y =
(2/3)x - 8 in green.
As the students worked, the teacher and I circulated about the room
and watched in amazement at how the students interpreted our
concept in slightly different ways, which was exactly what the
students had just pondered and discussed. For example, one student
drew many thin red and yellow lines with a slope of 2 in quadrant I,
while another drew only a few, very thick, red and yellow alternating
Thrilled by the students’ insights and their quick understanding of
lines. Despite these two students’ different interpretations, the
the spirit of Conceptual art, the algebra teacher and I became LeWitt,
concept of graphing “red and yellow lines with a slope of 2” was
and the students, our trained artists. We distributed a sheet of paper
correctly captured by both of the students (figure 2). Students even
to each of the students on which was drawn a coordinate grid. Next,
interpreted the first, simplest step of our concept differently, as some
we displayed on the whiteboard our concept, that is, a list of
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