Continue to explore patterns in tables by having stu- dents work in pairs or small groups to play Guess My Rule following the rules in the Student Guide. Interesting function machines can be displayed on a bulletin board. In the Homework section, students are asked to play this game at home with their family members.
Testing possible rules is a way to improve students' abilities to identify the pattern and rule between the input and output. Ask students to think about all the ways to get from an input to an output and then test each possible way. A rule will work for all input numbers. Some students will have trouble identifying rules to test, but will eagerly test rules. This testing will develop students' abilities to find, identify, and extend patterns in a data set. This is sometimes called a guess-and-check strategy.
