YOYOS and CALCULATORS

Target Grade: 10th or 11th, advanced algebra

Target Population and relevance: The students at this age will be participating in sports in one way or another. They will either be playing sports, watching sports, or forced into participation through mandatory school pep rallies.

Objectives:
Behavior: The students will listen to a short lecture on how to use a TI-82 and Maple V, Release IV. Then they will count off to divide themselves into four groups. Two groups will start off with yo-yos; they will swing them from the same height three different times, first the length of the string will be twelve inches, then six inches, then twenty-four inches. Each group member will swing the yo-yo three times while the rest of the group observes the different motion of the yo-yo in accordance with the different lenghts of string. The student swinging the yo-yo is expected to stay far enough from the rest of the students so as not to hit them. The other two groups will be shooting baskets with a Nerf basketball into a Nerf hoop. They will shoot one from ten feet, five feet, and twenty feet from the basket. Again each member will shoot while the other members observe the different patterns from the different distances. The groups will switch when they are done their first activity. Then they will sketch on paper what they think the six different parabolas (y=x^2, y=-x^2, y= x^2/2, y=-x^2/2, y=2x^2, and y=-2x^2) look like. Next they will graph them on TI-82s and then by using Maple V, Release IV which they will probably have to wait to use because of the number of computers in the classroom. They will print a copy of the Maple graph. Finally, they will sit down in their desks so I can tell them what the graphs should look like.

Conditions: The groups shall remain as quiet as this activity will allow and make sure every member participates.

Criteria: The students will turn in both the pencil and paper graph as well as the Maple print out. I will also assess their ability to work cooperatively in a group. On a test they will be expected to know the differences of the six parabolas and be able to graph them.

Materials: two yo-yos, two rulers to measure the different lengths of string, two Nerf baskets and balls, tape to mark where to shoot from as well as a tape measure to determine where to put the tape, four TI-82s, one computer loaded with Maple V, Release IV software, a printer and pencil and paper

Lesson Description: At the beginning of class nothing will be said about parabolas except for the six equations. The activity will just be described and how to graph using TI-82s and Maple. Then they will divide themselves into groups and carry out the activity. Once they are done I will show them what the six graphs should look like.


Evaluation Procedure: The pencil and paper graphs will be used just to make sure they followed instructions, but the Maple graphs should be right. The graphs along with how they worked with their groups will count as a class participation grade. If the Maple graph is correct and if they worked well in groups then the objectives were met in the short term. How well they do with related questions on the test will assess if the plan worked in the long term.