Apprentice Teaching: Unit Plan

Unit Title: Chapter 8: Graphing Quadratic Functions Duration: 3 Weeks // 15 Periods

Subject / Algebra 1 Honors Grade Level: 7th, 8th, and 9th Grade
Course:

BIG IDEAS ● Graph, write, and use quadratic functions in standard form, vertex form, and intercept form
Concepts to ● Find the minimum and maximum values of quadratic functions
be taught: ● Identify even and odd functions algebraically and graphically
● Use the intercept form of quadratic and cubic functions to find the zeros of the functions
● Write quadratic functions to model data and write a recursive rule for a quadratic function
● Compare linear, exponential, or quadratic functions using average rates of change

MAFS / NGSSS ● MAFS.912.F-LE.1.1: Distinguish between situations that can be modeled with linear functions and with exponential
& cog. functions.
complexity ● MAFS.912.F-LE.1.2: Construct linear and exponential functions, including arithmetic and geometric sequences
● MAFS.912.F-LE.1.3: Observe using graphs and tables that a quantity increasing exponentially eventually exceeds a
quantity increasing linearly, quadratically, or (more generally) as a polynomial function
● MA.912.AR.3: Write, solve and graph quadratic equations, functions and inequalities in one and two variables

Learning Specific activities:

activities, ● Students will start the unit by participating in the Polygraph Parabola activity, where they have to ask questions about
Lesson plans parabolas in order to figure out what parabola their partner picked.
Explorations, ● Concept Attainment Cards to help students keep track of new vocabulary and to help them identify the characteristics
Labs of a parabola
● Desmos’ Marbleslides activity helps students recognize different transformations of parabolas and identify what
 happens when you change certain aspects of the quadratic function.

Lesson Plans will be linked below:

● Opener week
● Week 1
● Week 2
● Week 3

Assessments: Formative ● Concept Attainment Summative ● Unit 8.1 - 8.3 Quiz - Mid-lesson check-in
assessmen Cards assessmen ● Unit 8 Test
ts (during ● Muddiest Point ts (end of
unit) ● 3 Minute Pause unit)
● Exit Slips

Research Mathematics Formative Assessment (Keeley and Tobey): Formative assessments such as Concept Attainment Cards,
Based Muddiest Point, 3 Minute Pause, and Exit Slips. Encourages classroom discourse and allows students to process information
Instructional on their own.
Strategies:

Resources People / Mrs. Bainter will print out the notes for the students in class so that I can distribute them
Needed: Facilities during the unit.

Equipment Chromebooks/Tablets

Materials Pencil, Paper

Technology ● All resources, such as video recordings, homework assignments, and extra practice problems, will be uploaded on
Integration Canvas
● I will use Desmos to help students graph and will utilize their quadratic function activities
● I will use NearPod for slideshow presentations, lectures, and student interactives such as Draw It slides
● I will use Zoom to interact with the students who are online
Reflection after you complete the unit. Include lessons that went well, resources you would use again, and any improvements you would make to
the unit.

Overall, the unit went very well. The only problem that I really came across was when presenting Unit 8.1 Part 2, as I focused more on how to
graph the functions, rather than helping students understand the transformations that were going on. As a result, when students were given the
quiz, they were unable to identify what the parent function was. For example, in the Unit 8.1 - 8.3 quiz, students were to identify the transformations
that were happening from the parent function to the new function, but they were given it represented as a graph rather than through equations of
the graph. As a result, some students took the transformed graph as the parent function and they identified the wrong transformation. I made sure
to correct this on the lessons taught after the quiz to better prepare them for the unit test, but this would have been avoided had I explained more
what the parent function was.
As for the lessons that went well, a lot of students were very engaged in the opener lesson, where I used Desmos’ Polygraph: Parabola
activity. Students started the unit by playing a version of Guess Who, where one student chooses a parabola for their opponent to guess, and the
opponent had to ask yes or no questions to narrow down the selections. This helped students identify characteristics of the graph and ask relevant
questions using their prior knowledge. After students completed this activity, we moved on to Part 2 of the same activity, where students learned the
actual definitions of the characteristics based off of what they answered in Part 1. Students stayed engaged, and the students who did not participate
in the past became involved with understanding the characteristics of the parabola.
Another lesson that went well was the Unit 8.6 Part 1 lesson, where students were to compare linear, exponential, and quadratic functions.
The lesson started with a warm-up that they had seen in Unit 6, where they had to look at two tables and determine whether it represented a linear
or an exponential function. During this portion of the lesson, I was able to lead a productive discussion on how students were able to identify the
difference between linear and exponential functions, and I was able to build off of their knowledge to introduce how to identify quadratic function.
In the Explorations portion of the lesson, students were given a problem where they had three different cars that were all going different speeds.
They were to compare their speeds and see which one had a constant speed, and which one accelerated the fastest. During this activity, students
were already quick to identify the second differences pattern, so when asked to identify quadratic functions using a table, they already saw the
pattern through the Explorations.
This unit would not have been the same without the Desmos activities, or the use of the Desmos graphing calculator. The Desmos activities
helped students make meaning of the concepts in front of them by drawing prior knowledge, which helped them make more connections when
going through the lesson slides. I also used the graphing calculator a lot because of the slider feature, so students were able to see the
transformations more clearly and understand the difference between a vertical stretch and a vertical compression. These resources proved to be
very helpful when presenting this unit, and are resources that I will continue to use in future lessons. I will also make sure to emphasize the
transformations a lot more clearly, and incorporate more visual aids that will help students understand the difference in these transformations.