Graphing Book Project

In order to encourage more writing in mathematics and  to help our students make connections among all the graphing methods they have learned over the last month, our Algebra I team has assigned a graphing Project.  The objective is simply to make, and illustrate a book demonstrating all of the graphing methods they have learned. 

Pages will include graphing vertical and horizontal lines, graphing lines in y = mx + b form, graphing lines in standard form using intercepts, and graphing inequalities.

If you are interested in the graphing project description and grading rubric click here!

I Hate the Alligator

Every year when we study the graphing of linear inequalities in two variables, I get frustrated with my student's lack of understanding of  inequality symbols.  Of all the misconceptions that students learn in elementary school math, the alligator is the worst.  You know what I'm talkin' about right???  The students learn that the alligator always eats the bigger number in order to help them understand the concept of an inequality. 

Unfortunately, many students are completely stumped when determining if an ordered pair is a solution to an inequality when they end up with a statement like 0 < -6.  They think that since the inequality is opening up toward the -6 that -6 is the bigger number and they shade their graph in the wrong part.  It takes a lot of work to undo the concept of the alligator.  I usually start with the number line and we talk about solutions of inequalities in one variable.  The students have learned the "steps" in middle school, but they have no concept of what they are doing.  They learn tricks for knowing which way to shade their number line, like "always draw your arrow the direction the symbol is pointing".  I understand that teachers are trying to use terms that the student will understand, but I think if you give them enough visual examples and not just the "steps" they will eventually understand the concept of less than, greater than, and equal to.

Sorry for the rant today, my Algebra class really are going great and I don't have a lot to complain about, but gosh I hate that alligator and I just needed to tell someone.

Linear Function Star Chain

I've posted about this activity before, but I wanted to share a new Star Chain I made this week to review linear functions.  My students really struggled on a quiz last week when I mixed up the problem types.  I asked students to find slope, x-intercepts, y-intercepts , and zeros from all different types of situations.  They had been doing great when we studied each topic by itself, but once I mixed them all up on a quiz, many of them couldn't seem to remember what to do when.  They were finding rise over run when all I asked for was the x-intercept, or when asked to find a zero, they would find the y-intercept. 

I can't say that I blame them.  They've got a lot of brand new vocabulary floating around in their sweet little heads and they haven't yet made all the connections necessary to differentiate between all the critical elements of a line.

After doing a little reteach yesterday, I decided to pull out one of my older activities that I use when I need something that is completed individually and is self-checking.  The students seemed to enjoy making these star chains once they got the hang of how it worked.  They are very easy to make if you use my template.  All you need is twelve problems and 12 unique answers.  Be sure and give your star chain a trial run and make sure it doesn't loop back on itself.  I learned that lesson the hard way.
I would also allow at least 30 minutes to do this activity or  a little more if your students are slow at cutting things out.

You can click here to see the original post which explains how the activity works

Here is the  Linear Function Star Chain  I used today. It contains a mix of problems which require students to find slope, intercepts, and zeros from a variety of representations.

Football Frenzy

Today, I'd like to share an activity from one of my amazing colleagues.  My friend, Bonnie,  shared this activity with our team last week and I asked her if I could share it on my blog.  This activity is perfect for those fall Fridays when your students are more concerned about the big game than they are about staying on task and completing another boring homework assignment.  This activity would also be great for the Friday before the Super Bowl. 

If you are familiar with my Ghosts in the Graveyard, it is a very similar idea.  Students work in groups to complete a set of problem cards with the goal of moving their game piece down a football field in order to score a touchdown. Bonnie, used this activity to practice factoring, but you could practice just about any topic with this game.


Materials Needed:
1.  A large football field that your can draw onto your whiteboard or some green butcher paper
2.  A marker for each team to move down the field
3.  5-6 problem cards for each yardage:  5, 10, 15

Instructions:

1.  Place students in groups of three or four

2.  Give each group a “5 yard card”.  If group works all problems correctly, advance their marker 5 yards on the football field.  Once successful on a “5 yard card” they may advance to a “10 yard card”.  If successful, advance their marker 10 yards and they may work a “15 yard card”

3.  If the group is unsuccessful at any level, they must work another card on that same level before they move on.

4.  Once successful at every level, they may work cards at any level they choose.

5.  First group to score a touchdown wins

 

Here are the generic Football Frenzy instructions complete with templates for the football cards and markers

 

Here is my friend's Football Factoring activity

Factoring Football Cards

Factoring Football Answer Key

 

 

 

Ghosts In The Graveyard (New and Revised)

It's hard to believe, but October is already here and even though we are still dealing with temperatures in the 90's here in South Texas, it is time to start planning for my favorite activity of the entire year.

Ghosts in the Graveyard is an activity that I use every Halloween to review concepts I've taught since the beginning of school.  The activity has proven so popular that I've also had to create games to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I've also had wonderful feedback from readers who've tried this activity in their classroom with great success. 

If you want to try it in your classroom, it is time to start planning now, because it will take you a little time to get it all together.  The main preparation is developing your ghost problem cards, getting them laminated, and then cutting out the little ghosts. 

Materials you will need

8-10 problem cards (I will provide you with a template)
4 Tombstones that you will draw and hang up on your board
About 50 little ghosts for each class (template provided)
Answer Sheet for each student
Answer Key

Objective:  Collect as many "little ghosts" as possible by working together as a group to complete a set of review problems.

Instructions.

1.  On each large ghost template, write or type 3 or 4 problems (I copy onto orange paper and laminate)

2.  Before each class hang up four tombstones at the front of the room

3.  Place students in groups of 3-4 and give each student an answer sheet to record their work

4.  Pass out a problem card to each group and place the extra cards at the front of the room

5.  Students work together to complete the problems on their card and then call you over when they are finished to check their answers.  If all three problems are correct (and every single person has worked the problem) I give them a "little ghost" which they write their group number on and place on one of the tombstones at the front of the room.  They can place all their "little ghosts" on the same tombstone or they can split them up.

6.  After finishing their first card, they go pick up another card and begin working on it with the goal of collecting as many "little ghosts" as possible.

7.   About 10 minutes before the end of class, I call time and then the fun starts.

8.  What they don't know at the beginning of the class is that I have assigned a point value of each tombstone.  So Tombstone #1 might be worth 25 points, #3 might be worth 50 points etc. 

9.  To calculate the score, count the number of ghosts on each tombstone and multiply by the point value.

10.  The cool thing about this game is that the group that does the most problems doesn't necessarily win.  This is one of the few activities I do that the students will literally beg to do "One more problem"!

Get all the templates, instructions, and student answer sheet here

Matching a Verbal Description to a Graph

Last week we were studying matching Verbal Descriptions to a graph.  Some students are naturally good at this, and others really struggle.  Despite my best efforts to teach this topic, when looking at a Speed v. Time graph that increases and then decreases, many students will invariably choose the answer choice that indicates someone is walking up a hill and then down a hill.

I decided to try an interactive approach this year and selected twelve graphs and 18 verbal descriptions.  I had the students cut out the verbal descriptions and then work together in groups to match the descriptions to the graphs.  This activity turned out to be quite difficult for many of the students and looking back, I decided that having six incorrect answers was just too much and made the activity unnecessarily difficult.  I reworked the activity to include only three incorrect answers in an effort to make it a little less time consuming.

You can download the activity here.

Function Vocabulary Journal Entry

Can't take any credit for this one.  One of my colleagues did this journal entry with her students to help them keep all the function vocabulary we are learning straight.  I like how hers came out, so I'm gonna have to try it myself.  Thought I'd show you her pictures.