Day 117: Functions & Equations

6th Grade Math Standards: 6.EE.8 Use variables to represent two quantities in a real-world problem that change in relationship to one another; write an equation to express one quantity, thought of as the dependent variable, in terms of the other quantity, thought of as the independent variable. Analyze the relationship between the dependent and independent variables using graphs and tables, and relate these to the equation. For example, in a problem involving motion at constant speed, list and graph ordered pairs of distances and times, and write the equation d = 65t to represent the relationship between distance and time.

The Learning Objective: Describe the relationship between the independent and dependent variable.

Quote of the Day: “Optimists are normally cheerful and happy, and therefore popular; they are resilient in adapting to failures and hardships, their chances of clinical depression are reduced, their immune system is stronger, they take better care of their health, they feel healthier than others and are in fact likely to live longer.” – Daniel Kahneman

Agenda:

1. Journal on things to focus on in trimester 3: attendance, homework, notes, weekly quizzes, class participation, studying, peer collaboration, and my favorite: math for the sake of math.
2. Independent vs. Dependent Variables 
3. Notes on Functions & Equations (from the textbook) 
4. Functions & Equations Practice (from the textbook)
5. Start the weekly quiz

The Assessment: I had the students start the homework by doing number one on the guided practice. If I checked that problem off they did problem number four on the independent practice which was a two-step rule that required them to multiply by 10 and add 30. Not something that they would be able to get right away if they were not finding the change in y over the change in x.

Homework: The weekly quiz and the functions homework are due the next class, but thanks to the magic of double block math, it is not nearly as overwhelming as it would typically be. Students were finishing the textbook homework in class which left them just the four question weekly quiz for homework.

My Glass Half-Full Take: I liked two things I did today. First of all, on the homework I had the students put an E, M, or H next to each problem. It stood for easy, medium, and hard and gave them forewarning about what sort of effort the problem was going to require. I also liked the analogy of using cause and effect to explain independent and dependent variables. I had learned this from a colleague and did it for the first time this year. I felt like it added to the number of students who were able to differentiate between the two variables.

One Thing I Wish I Had Done Differently: In my last class, I wish that I had students check the work of other students. It got to the point where five students were raising their hand at the same exact time. I could get away with it in my other classes because they were co-taught and class size was smaller.

Link of the Day: I heard in a Ted Talk the other day the reason for why X is "the" variable instead of other letters. Thought it was pretty interesting and also enjoyed how the speaker referenced that we don't call the movie "B-Men" we call it "X-Men."