Numberjack

Students must create functions based off commands. When they are graphed together (on paper and on a graphing calculator) they create an image of a grumpy old man. I use this activity before I have the students create their own image on Desmos.com. They say it is really helpful for them. Practices: - Function transformation with linear, absolute value, quadratic, square root, cubic, and cubed root functions. - Finding domain and range. - Finding key/anchor points. - Graphing with restricted

Students must use linear, absolute value, quadratic, square root, cubic, cubed root, and radical functions to create an image of their own. Practices: - Function Transformation - Domain and Range - Finding key/anchor points - Graphing with a restricted domain on paper and a calculator

Students practice the basics of Radians and Degrees by walking around the room to 16 stations, instead of sitting in a chair. Easy for students and teachers to check understanding since finding the answer, located in a different part of the room, is part of the activity. Topics include: Angle Conversion, Supplemental and Co-terminal Angles all using Degree and Radian measure. Directions for Teacher: 1. Label stations 1-16 around the room. 2. Cut out problems and their answers. 3. Tape problem

Students are challenged to solve 8 questions about the probability of lengths of pregnancies by matching up cards. The cards have 5 categories; the question, the z-score, the Normal curve with area, the calculator command for TI-84, and the probability notation for the answer. I recommend printing each category on a different color paper. Questions are challenging but attainable, the activity is fun and easy to grade. There are four questions afterward to have students think further about t

Students explore the TI-83/84 on their own by following the step-by-step instructions. This intro to the graphing calculator focuses on typing in common functions correctly and exploring how to use the GRAPH screen effectively Many of my students are intimidated by the many buttons of the TI-83/84, especially because it is so much less intuitive than their calculator apps on their phones. They've found this to be a very useful exercise and I have them keep it in the front of their binders.

Students use circular objects and string to derive the circumference formula and therefore define what a "radian" is. Students finish by finding a formula for conversion between radians and degrees and complete the Unit Circle in radians.

Students play a matching game where they have to find three cards that make a trig equation from the first quadrant. One card is the trig function (sine, cosine, tangent), another is the angle (30, 45, 60 or radian equivalents), and the last is the trig value. For example, a trio would look like Sin 30 = 1/2. Once three cards are taken from the board, they are replaced and play continues. Students must also write down their trig equation. This is a really fun way to get kids to memorize t

Students explore the TI-84 on their own by following the step-by-step instructions. This intro to the graphing calculator focuses on using the TABLESET and WINDOW. Many of my students are intimidated by the many buttons of the TI-83/84, especially because it is so much less intuitive than their calculator apps on their phones. They've found this to be a very useful exercise and I have them keep it in the front of their binders. Check out my other TI-84-Help sheets.

There's a steep learning curve for kids and the TI-83 or TI-84. Here are 5 common errors and 5 nifty tricks that will make things smoother! I split these up into 5 groups (1 common error and 1 nifty trick on each) so that students could either be put into groups or stations to learn each one. Then rotate or go out and teach each other what they learned. See also my lessons on teaching how to use the table, window, and regression formula on the TI-83/84.

This is a quick reference sheet I give my students so they don't have to stop class and ask me for help when they receive an ERROR message on their calculators. It shows the most common error messages that they run into during pre-calculus (WINDOW RANGE, INVALID DIM, DIM MISMATCH, SYNTAX) and how to solve it. Many of my students are intimidated by the many buttons of the TI-83/84, especially because it is so much less intuitive than their calculator apps on their phones. They've found this to

This is the song I sing when I dress up as a numberjack on Halloween.