Heidi's Math Store

Introductory lesson to using data to create a linear growth graph and model by building "fake" ice cream cones. Templates are included for the cones and scoops. Instructions for the teacher are also included. Contact me at hrudolph@orangecsd.org for details or clarification. Students will be introduced to appropriate vocabulary such as initial amount, slope, intercept, growth, increasing, model, trend, linear function or linear equation. Lamination is helpful for re-using the materials! A

Students will literally take a bite out of a pretzel (or Twizzler) and predict the pattern if they would continue to eat it. A decreasing slope is discovered, and a model can be written to portray the situation. Students can predict how many bites it will take for the pretzel (or their fingers!) to be gone. Appropriate vocabulary should be introduced, including slope, intercept, trend, decreasing, and linear.

This activity can be used with Slope Activities 1 and 2. Students are given geometry tiles (regular polygons) made of plastic in the shapes of squares, rhombus, equilateral triangle, hexagon, etc. Each student builds a row of the shapes, recording the perimeter with each additional polygon. 1 unit is assumed to be the length of each side. Patterns will emerge, so that students can readily predict the next total perimeter. This example can be used to help students build an understanding of g