Lesson Activities: Grade 11 Functions and Applications


Grade 11 mixed functions is a course that students struggle with, and the teachers struggle to make fun and interactive.  I found all three presentations dealing with concepts in this course to be very engaging and beneficial to use in a math class.

I think Reza’s lesson would be a great way to introduce students to the graphing Sine functions.  I especially liked the chart which students would have to check off which characteristics each variable in the equation would affect.  I think this activity would get students to really think about how each variable influences the Sine graph, as well as make them better able to visualize how the Sine graph is affected by each variable.  The other activity in this lesson, The Ferris Wheel Problem, is a great way to have students visualize the Sine function, as well as how it relates to circular motions.  I think the ferris wheel activity is also great because it allows students to manipulate certain features of the ferris wheel, and see how it affects the Sine function.  This makes it easier for students to then create their equations using the information provided on their sheet (height, radius, and revolutions per second). 

Victoria provided an engaging lesson on solving trigonometric problems.  I think her activity of having students complete a scavenger hunt would be a great way to have students practice mathematical concepts without feeling like they are simply practicing solving problems.  I find a lot of students do not put an effort into working through a list of practice problems provided by their teacher because they get overwhelmed with all the questions, and get discouraged when they cannot solve a problem.  By having students complete a scavenger hunt instead to solve the problems, this may reduce math anxiety among the students.  I also think that by presenting the math problems in a fun way like a scavenger hunt, students would be more motivated to attempt the problems.  Another benefit of this scavenger hunt activity is that students get to work together to solve problems, as well as can learn from one another to understand how to solve a problem.  I think it’s a great idea to have students reflect after the activity in order to understand what they need more clarification or help with.  This scavenger hunt activity could be used in any grade level to make practicing math problems more interactive and fun. 


I think Deanna’s lesson activity on domain and range would be a great way to engage students in the beginning of the unit.  I especially like how her activity gets students up and moving around the class rather than most traditional math classes where students are seated and taking notes.  I also like the graphing activity because students get to create their own problems to solve rather than simply being handed a graph and told to find the domain and range.  This allows students to take more control of their learning, as well as provides them with individualized problems to solve.

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