Why don't my students understand translations?

Translations are a topic that students struggle with. Why?  Because they can't visualize them. They don't know what the functions look like or how adding/subtracting numbers affects the parent function. 

First, I would launch by using Desmos. Have students graph y=x^2 then y=x^2 + 1, y = x^2 + 2 , y = x^2 + 3 and look for the pattern.  (Great application of looking for repeated reasoning!)

Next, have them graph y = x^2, then y=x^2 -1, y = x^2 - 5, etc and look for the pattern. 

Then, y=x^2 with y=(x-1)^2, y=(x - 4)^2, etc. Then y=(x+3)^2, y=(x+5)^2, etc and look for patterns. 

Once they see the shifts, (up, down, left, right). Check it with something concrete.  

I used a sticky wicky that I found in my house and a small sheet of graph paper. You could give each student a pipe cleaner, they can bend them to form a quadratic then shift them on the graph paper. You can give them different equation to graph and they can physically move the pipe cleaner on their graph paper to where they would shift from the parent graph. 

Want more ideas like this?  Sign-up for our mailing list. Fill out the form below (don't forget to confirm your email):

"Sort It"

One of my favorite activities to do in class is a sort.  There are two types (closed) where you give students the categories and (open) where they sort and write the categories. We are going to be doing a closed sort in class this week.

I am going to give my students a copy of the properties shown in the google document below.

Teacher directions: 

• Copy the problems (enough for each group to have one set). I use a different color paper for each group. 
• Cut apart the set and place them in a ziplock bag or envelope. 
• Distribute an envelope or ziplock bag to each group. 
• Give students the categories for the sort. (simplify, multiplication property of equality, distributive property, etc.)

Student directions:

• Take the problems out of the bag. 
• Sort them into the appropriate category. 

After the students have sorted, discuss the properties and where they placed them. If you have a document camera, this would be a great to use with that. Want more activities like this? Sign-up for our emails using the form below: 

How many cups does it take to reach my height?

I wrote on my smart board:  How many cups does it take to reach my height?  Then I asked students to generate a list of questions they wanted me to answer. They came up with:

• How tall am I?
• What type of cup are we using? (When they asked this, I gave them two styrofoam cups but they weren't allowed to touch them yet)
• How are we going to stack them? 

Next, I had them make an estimate for the amount of cups needed and I recorded their guess on the board. 

Then, I had them solve the problem and write their strategy on their personal whiteboards. I gave them 10 minutes. 

I had them present their solutions to the class. Some wrote equations, others guess and checked, some made a table for the pattern. 

Finally, we actually stacked cups to me. This lesson took roughly 39 minutes. 

Want more ideas such as this sent to your inbox?  Sign-up using the form below:

Person Search

Tomorrow my students are going to be participating in a search within our classroom to get to know each other. 


Directions:

• Give each person a copy of the person search handout. Get your copy here: https://themathmentors.mykajabi.com/p/ice-breakers
• Students will walk around and interview each other. They may ask a question such as, "how many siblings do you have?" It can't just be yes or no. If the answer matches a square, have that student initial it. If not, ask another question. 
• Repeat until the entire sheet is initialed. 

We can't flip like Simone Biles but...

Place your students into groups of 3 or 4. In their group, they are going to create an olympic type game that we can play in our classroom. Groups will start with their own game and collect the data. For example, if we are doing a standing jump from a line on the ground, we would have a sheet to record how far everyone jumped. 

This would be great for a statistics unit. We could graph each distribution, write comparison, discuss measures of center, standard deviation, etc. The possibilities are endless. Write a comment for how you could use this in your room.  Thank you for reading!



Want more engagement activities delivered to your email?  Sign-up using the form. 

Rich Tasks

When I meet my students for the very first time on Tuesday, they will be sitting in groups of 4 and I will have them work on their very first task.



I will launch it by having students generate what good/bad group work looks like. Then we will be launching into our very first group task. Want how I am doing it and a copy of my first task? Sign-up using the form below!

Not Your VFW Hall Bingo!!

This is a game that students of all ages will love! I've played it with high school freshmen and seniors. If you would like a video explaining step by step how to run this in class as well as a pdf with teacher/student directions and a copy of the activity I played with my algebra 1 class, complete the form below.