Let the students choose the model!  That is one of my biggest take-aways from Kara Imm's presentation last weekend.  During first term, I always focus on connecting multiple representations of functions (picture, words, equation, graph, table).  When I presented the Styrofoam Cups task to my three honors classes two weeks ago, I gave them this multiple representations form that I created (see document at right) to use in solving the problem. I  was so concerned about their fluency in determining independent/dependent variables, slope, y-intercept and creating multiple representations, that I took away their opportunity to choose the model that made the most sense to them.  I didn't let them choose a model - I made them use all of them!  Coming back to the classroom this week, I could hear Kara Imm telling me "Less is More" and Dan Meyer telling me "You can always add. You can't always subtract."  So that's what I did.  I broke this lesson into two days for my accelerated class. On the first day, after we discussed all the important information, I had them choose any strategy they wanted to solve the problem and record their strategy in their math journal.  On the second day, I asked them to describe their thinking and wrote them out on the board.  The strategies ranged from guess and check, to writing an equation, to drawing a diagram.  After we had discussed all of their strategies, I gave them the multiple representations form.  This seemed like a good compromise between letting my students begin by choosing their own model and then later making certain that they are able to move fluently between models.