What’s in a Name? Absolute Value & Algebraic Identity

Abstract

Although many well-intentioned organizations and institutions emphasize the importance of antiracism and social justice in mathematics education, there remains a lack of practitioner-oriented curricular materials exhibiting how these long-overdue shifts can manifest in classrooms. This article describes how modifying a project on absolute value functions in an Algebra 2 course was able to incorporate Learning for Justice social justice standards and weave in identity work, while supporting students’ mathematical learning in a manner consonant with the four essential actions and four key areas identified in TODOS position statements.