Rachel Bouttenot's Algebra I students recently got a fun assignment — use the online Desmos graphing calculator to create any design they wanted, whether something from their imagination or a familiar image recreated through equations.
One student, Camden Frye, took it somewhere no one expected.
Camden wrote more than 20 equations to build his design from scratch, going well beyond what the class had covered. He taught himself how to use ellipses and circles — concepts Ms. Bouttenot hadn't even introduced yet — just to get his image right. The result was something his teacher didn't see coming.
Ms. Bouttenot couldn't be prouder of his curiosity and drive to explore math on his own terms.