One of our favorite parts of sharing MathHappens tools is seeing what educators do with them in their own classrooms.

Recently, Stacie Bender, a high school math teacher, reached out to let us know she used our mini unit circle model plans to create a full class set using her school’s laser cutter. From there, she designed two classroom explorations that invite students to discover patterns and relationships on the unit circle through hands-on investigation.

We love this kind of work! The unit circle can feel abstract and intimidating to many students, but Stacie’s explorations use physical models to support sense-making and pattern-finding. Rather than starting with formulas, students are encouraged to notice relationships and build understanding through exploration.

With Stacie’s permission, we are excited to share her lesson with you all as a way to extend the impact of her classroom work and support other educators looking for hands-on approaches to teaching trigonometry.

We are grateful to Stacie for her generosity and for contributing her thinking back to the broader math education community.