This article is a contribution to understanding of teacher actions that can contribute to a successful mathematics learning experience defined as one that engages all students especially those who may sometimes feel alienated from mathematics and schooling in productive and successful mathematical thinking and learning. We offer an example of a task that can form the basis of such a learning experience. The key elements are that the task is open-ended that the teacher offers specific pedagogical prompts to support student learning that the teacher builds a sense of community by ensuring that there are some common experiences and the teacher prepares prompts that can be used to support students who are experiencing difficulty or to extend those students who complete the basic task readily.
