Learning Goal: (1)Provide a context for slope and y-intercepts (2)Understand that linear functions have a constant rate of change and can be represented in multiple ways.

Activity:

• Stacking Cups (Dan Meyer)
  • Lesson Implementation Guide
  • Alternate version (Andrew Stadel) if you don’t have materials

Classwork:

• Warm Up/Task Handout
• Connection Handout

Standards:

• Common Core
  • HSF.BF.A.1 – Write a function that describes a relationship between two quantities.
  • HSF.LE.A.1.B – Recognize situations in which one quantity changes at a constant rate per unit interval relative to another.
  • 8.F.A.3 – Interpret the equation y = mx + b as defining a linear function, whose graph is a straight line; give examples of functions that are not linear.
  • 8.F.B.4 – Construct a function to model a linear relationship between two quantities. Determine the rate of change and initial value of the function from a description of a relationship or from two (x, y) values, including reading these from a table or from a graph. Interpret the rate of change and initial value of a linear function in terms of the situation it models, and in terms of its graph or a table of values.
• TEKS (2015-16)
  • A.2(C) – write linear equations in two variables given a table of values, a graph, and a verbal description
  • A.3(C) – graph linear functions on the coordinate plane and identify key features, including x-intercept, y-intercept, zeros, and slope, in mathematical and real-world problems