Drawing straight line graphs is a rich area to use the interactive whiteboard, mini-whiteboards and loads of other amazing interactive resources. One of my favourite ways to approach this subject, normally as a precursor to introducing y=mx+c, is to put 6 - 10 equations of lines on the board, of varying difficulty. I then split the class into as many groups as there are equations, and give each group a set of coloured page markers. Tell them they are going to be assigned one of the equations on the board which they will have to use the page markers to show. Give them 5 minutes to discuss each of the lines, and whilst they are doing this, load up Autograph, or use the Drawing Straight Line Graphs activity. Axes set from -5 to 5 should work fine. Once the 5 minutes is up, go over to the equations, and place a coloured marker next to each equation to indicate which one they have to demonstrate. Call the first group up to place their markers on the line they have been assigned. Once they have done this, make sure that Slow Plot is enabled (the turtle icon) and enter the equation as soon as it appears on the screen, pause the animation, and ask if they would like to change any of their points. Then continue the animation to reveal the full line. Repeat this with each group until all the lines have been done. The final product should look a bit like below. Alternatively, you could invite all the groups up to put their markers on to start with, and then reveal the lines one by one. This activity is great for getting them to recall what they already know about straight line graphs before moving on to y=mx+c. It really engages the class, and gets them actively involved in the lesson, and by not telling them which equation they are getting straight away, they have to think about all of them.
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Dan Rodriguez-Clark
I am a maths teacher looking to share good ideas for use in the classroom, with a current interest in integrating educational research into my practice. Categories
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August 2021
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