I.

LessonPlan:IntroductiontoPolynomialUnit

Aim
:Icanexplaintheunitproblemandwhatapolynomialinstandardformis,andevaluate
polynomialsforagivenvalue.

ContentStandards
:HSFIF.A.2A2.A.41

MaterialsandResources
:
1. Notebooks
2. Cardboardboxes
3. Tape
4. Scissors
5. Rulers

KeyVocabulary
:
Polynomial
Volume

Motivation
:
Studentswillmakeafirstattempttosolveaproblemusingtheirownintuition.Thiswill
contrastwiththeendoftheunitassessmentwhichwillinvolvewritingapolynomial
equationtosolvethesameproblemmathematically.Thepuzzle/competitionoftrying
tocreatetheboxwithoutmathcoulddrawstudentsin.

ProceduralChallenge
:
StudentsmayfinishtheEngagementActivityquicklyandstruggletostayengaged.
Buildingtheboxaccuratelycouldprovedifficult.

ConceptualChallenge
:
Studentsmayhavetroublerememberinghowtocalculatevolumeofaprism.

Implementation
:

EngagementActivity:
1. Studentsarepresentedtheunitproblem(adaptedfrom
McDougallLittellAlgebra2
):If
wecutsquareswithsidesoflengthxoutofacardboardrectangle(seediagram
below),whatvalueofxwillmaximizethevolumeofaboxmadefromthesamepiece
ofcardboard?Seethediagrambelow:

1. Studentsworkinpairstochooseavalueforx,maketheboxusingcardboard
rectangles,rulers,scissors,andtape,andmeasurethevolume.
2. StudentsputtheirdataintoaspreadsheetatthefrontoftheroominExcel.
3. Ifstudentsfinishearly,theycanchooseanothervalueforx,helpothergroups,record
answersorhelpmanagematerials.Theycouldalsodecoratetheirboxes.

Summary/Debrief:
1. Theteachercallsthestudentsbacktogetherandgoesoverthefindings.Hopefully
valuesof
x
intheExcelspreadsheetontheSmartBoardwillyieldbiggervolumesfor
thebox,thentheywilldropoff.Ifnot,theteachercanjustcongratulatethegroupthat
hadthehighestvolume.
2. Theteacherthendiscussesthefactthatthestudentsweresolvingaproblemjustby
guessingorusingintuition.Maybesomestudentstriedtousealgebra,andmaybe
theyweresuccessful.Theteacherelicitsreflectionsonwhatitwaslike,howstudents
madeguesses,etc.

MiniLesson
3. Finally,theteacherintroducesthenotionofapolynomial,andthestudentsdefinethe
termintheirnotes(amonomial=avariableoranumberpolynomial=amonomialor
asumofmonomials).Theteacheralsointroducesthenotionofstandardform.The
teacherthenexplainsthatbytheendoftheunit,thestudentsshouldbeabletosolve
thesameproblemusingpolynomialsasatooltomaximizethevolumeofthebox.

Assessment:Exitslipputthispolynomialinstandardform:

4x + 15 + 12 + 7x2 9x4 + x3

HW:Worksheet(seeattached)

Name:

Date:

PolynomialFunctions

Putthefollowingpolynomialsinstandardformandevaluatethemforthegivenvalueofx.

1. f (x) = 8 x2 evaluateforx=2

2. g (x) = 6x + 8x4 3 evaluateforx=1

3. h(x) = x4 + 6 evaluateforx=2

4. f (x) = x + 21 x4 43 x3 + 10 evaluateforx=4

Name:

Date:
EvaluatingPolynomials

II.LessonPlan:PolynomialArithmetic

Prerequisiteskills
:Understandingliketermsandcomfortmanipulatingpolynomials

Aim
:Wecanadd,subtract,andmultiplypolynomials.

ContentStandards
:HSAAPR.A.1A2.N.3

MaterialsandResources
:
SmartBoard
Notebooks
Sortcards

KeyVocabulary
:
Liketerms

Motivation
:
Adding,subtracting,andmultiplyingpolynomialsislikecleaningupthekitchenputthe
foodinthefridge,thedishesinthesink,trashinthetrashcan,andwipeupthe
counter.

ProceduralChallenge
:

ConceptualChallenge
:
Recognizingliketermscanbechallenging

Implementation
:

DoNow:
Sortingmonomialsstudentsaredirectedtosortasetofcardsintofourpileshoweverthey
3
3
2
2
thinkmakessense.Themonomialsare4x
,8x
,9x
,2x
,15x,x,6,and24.Thestudentswill
hopefullyseethattheyshouldbesortedbydegree.Theteachercanhintiftheydonot.

MiniLesson:

Theteacherwilllectureandthestudentswilltakenotesonthefollowing:
Reminders
:
3+3+3=9isthesameas3(3)=9.
Also
:
3(3)+5(3)
9+15
24=8(3)

ie3(3)+5(3)=8(3)
Thisshowsthatwehave
added
thecoefficients.

Now,wegeneralizetheabovetovariables:
x+x+xisthesameas3x.
2x+3xisthesameas(x+x)+(x+x+x)=x+x+x+x+x=5x
2
2
2
and2x
+3x
=5x
aswell.

Allthisistosaythatwhenyouareaddingandsubtractingpolynomialsyouare
combininglike
terms
(variablesthatareraisedtothesamepowers).Youworkwiththe
coefficients
ofthe
monomials.

Wedothesamethingwhenweareaddingandsubtractingpolynomials.

Examplestobeworkedoutbytheteacherbothhorizontallyandvertically:
3
2
3
2
(2x
5x
+3x9)+(x
+6x
+11)
3
2
2
(3y
2y
7y)+(4y
+2y5)

Whenaddinghorizontally,theteacherwillmodelcolorcodingliketermssothatstudentsdo
notgetconfused.

Multiplyingpolynomials:
Everymonomialgetsmultipliedbyeveryothermonomialinadjacentterms.

Groupwork:
Studentsworktogetheronexamples,thenpresentthesetotherestoftheclass.

Summary:
Addingorsubtractingpolynomialscanlookintimidating,buttherearereallyonlytwosteps:
1.Identifyliketerms(variablesraisedtothesamepower)
2.Addorsubtracttheircoefficientsiftheyarevariables,oradd/subtractthenumbersifthey
areconstants.

HW
:Seeattached


III.LessonPlan:Zeros,Factors,Solutions,andXIntercepts

Prerequisiteknowledge
:Factorpolynomials

Aim
:Wecanexplaintheconnectionbetweenzeros,factors,solutions,andxinterceptsofa
graph,andusethesetofind
turningpoints
(ielocalminimaandmaxima).

ContentStandards
:HSAAPR.B.3HSFIF.C.7cA2.A.26

MaterialsandResources
:
SmartBoard
Studentnotebooksandcalculators

KeyVocabulary
:
Minimum
Maximum

Motivation
:Thisisalessonwhereseveraltopicsreallycometogetherinexcitingways.

ProceduralChallenge
:
Studentsmighthaveadifficulttimewithcalculatorfunctions
Challengingsketchingcomplexpolynomials

ConceptualChallenge
:
Thisisacomplicatednotiontograsponitsown.

Implementation
:

DoNow/Exploration:

Ontheirown,studentsuseacalculatortographthefunction:
f (x) = 61 (x + 3)(x 2)2 andsketchit.
Then,theyanswerthefollowingquestions:
1.Whatarethexinterceptsofthefunction?
2.Whatarethefactorsofthepolynomialabove?
3.Whatistheconnectionbetweenthefactorsoff(x)andthexintercepts?
4.Useyourcalculatorsfeaturestofindminimumandmaximum.Whatdotheselooklikeona
graph?

MiniLesson:
NotesondiscussionflowingfromtheDoNowactivity:
Zerosareplaceswherethegraphofafunctioncrossesthexintercept.

Wecanseezerosjustbylookingatafunctionthatisfactoredcompletely.
Localminimumandlocalmaximumarepeaksandvalleysthatarehigherorlowerthanany
othernearbypoints.Discussinsmallgroups:canstudentsthinkofsituationwheretheyd
needtoknowmaximaorminima?

Summary:
Zeros,solutions,roots,andxinterceptsarecloselyrelated
Minimaandmaximaareplaceswherethegraphofapolynomialturns(iegoesfrompositive
slopetonegativeslope)

ExitSlip:Circleandlabelmaxima,minima,androotsofapolynomialgraph.

HW
:Explainthathomeworkispracticerelatedtofindingrootsusingavarietyofstrategies.It
requirespullingtogetherworkfromseveraldays.

Name:

Date:
Homework:SolvingPolynomialEquations

Name:

Date:

HW:Findingpolynomialroots
Directions:Useallyourstrategies(factoring,quadraticformula)tosolvetheequationsbelow.


IV.LessonPlan:Factorstrategies

Aim
:Wecanusestrategiestofactorpolynomialexpressions.

ContentStandards
:HSASSE.B.3aHSFIF.C.7cA2.A.26

MaterialsandResources
:
SmartBoard
Studentnotebooks

KeyVocabulary
:
Factor
Perfectsquare
Trinomial

Motivation
:
Polynomialsareoftendisguisedmeaning,theylookmoreintimidatingordifficultto
workwiththantheyactuallyare.Factoringhelpsusbreakdownpolynomialssothat
wecanseewhatsreallygoingon.

ProceduralChallenge
:

ConceptualChallenge
:
Factoringseemslikeitcouldcomedowntojustseeingitornot,andthestudents
mighthavedifficultyseeingintuitivelyhowtofactorpolynomials.

Implementation
:
DoNow/Exploration:
PartI:Factorthefollowing:
16
27
2
x

2
4x
+2x
2
2x
3x+20
2
x+8x+16
2
9x
1

PartII:Multiplythefollowing:
(x + y )(x2 xy + y 2 )


(a b)(a2 + ab + b2 )

Minilesson:
Studentstakenotesonthefollowing:
Factoringmeanslookingatanumberorpolynomialandfiguringoutwhatvariablesor
numbersweremultipliedtoproducethatpolynomial.
Strategiesforfactoring
Recognize(asintheDoNow)whenpolynomialsarethesumordifferenceof
twocubes.

Factorbygrouping
Findcommonfactorsin
parts
ofapolynomial,thenusethesetobreak
downthepolynomial.

Factorpolynomialsinquadraticform
2
Factoraquadratic(ax
+bx+c)outofapolynomial

Assessment:Inthefinaltenminutesofclass,studentscreatefactoringproblemsforeach
otherandexchangethem.

HW:Seeattached.

Name:

Date:
Homework:PolynomialArithmetic

V.LessonPlan:VolumeMaximizationProjectWrapUp

Aim
:Wecanwritehigherdegreepolynomialfunctions.

ContentStandards
:HSFBF.A.1A2.S.7

MaterialsandResources
:
Cardboard
Scissors
Tape
Rulers
Calculators

KeyVocabulary
:
Polynomial
RectangularPrism

Motivation
:
Studentswillsolvethechallengeposedtothematthebeginningoftheunit,
demonstratingwhattheyhavelearned.

ProceduralChallenge
:
Studentsmighthaveadifficulttimeputtingtogetherallthepiecesoftheproblemand
requirehintstofinishtheproject.

ConceptualChallenge
:
Studentsmayhavetroubleunderstandinghowtosetupthepolynomial.

Implementation
:
DoNow:
Studentscalculatethevolumeofarectangularprismwithpolynomialsforlength,
width,andheight.

MiniLesson:
Theteacherpresentstheunitquestionagain:givenafixedamountofcardboardthat
wewillcuttomakeabox,howcanwedecidehowmuchtocutoutofthecornersto
maximizethevolume?
Theteachercanscaffoldthecreationofthepolynomialbydemonstratinghowto
calculatethedimensionsofthebox(lengthofcardboard2xwidthofcardboard2x
x).
Theteachercanthendemonstratethattheequationwillneedtobepluggedintoa
calculatorandthatthestudentsmightneedcertainfunctionstofindthelocal
maximum.


Summary:
Studentsshouldgetthesameanswer,sotheycanshareanswersastheclassis
wrappingup.

Assessment:Teacherwillcirculatetoensurethatstudentsaremakingcorrectcalculations.

HW:Buildtheboxwiththemaximumvolume,andcreateaposter/displayexplainingthe
volumemaximizationproblemanditssolution.Rubricattached.

VolumeMaximizationPoster/ModelProjectRubric

Category

Criteria

PointsEarned/Possible

Math

Correctlysolvesthevolume
project
Workisshownandpresented
clearly
Volumefunctionisgraphed
correctlyontheposterwith
localmaximumcircled

/8

Model

Studentturnsinaneatmodel
ofthemaximizedvolumebox
Modelisaccurate

/4

Writing

Writingontheposterisclear
Doesnotcontain
capitalization,punctuationor
spellingerrors

/4

OverallEffort

Studentwasontaskinclass
/4
Posterdemonstratestime,
care,andattentiontodetail
Takentogether,theproject
conveysthatitisthestudents
bestwork

Total
/20