For this unit, only 4 days were spent. It was during a time of state testing when classes met on non-consecutive days and I wanted something challenging but fun. What I liked about this mini-unit was the pushback I received from several students…”This is stupid,” “I’ll never be able to do that.” For the first day or two, many students were frustrated, even angry, quitting early. But the Solution Guide shows the user the algorithms to reach each level, so there is quick feedback and incentive to keep trying. One of the most frustrated students at the very beginning had a breakthrough moment…..see the link to the video below.

I checked out a class set of Rubik’s cubes from http://www.youcandothecube.com/
and borrowed some extras from teachers so that every student had a cube.
I loaded the solution guides on our district website so each student could access a full-color guide.
If I add to this unit, I’d like to do more than just solve the cube…perhaps look deeper into the algorithms and WHY they work instead of just following them.