My Instructors Manual

GETTING THE MAXIMUM
Kerrik
Abstract
A Cron
This document was created to satisfy Task 3, Part 1 in WGUs Technology
kcron1@wgu.edu
Production Masters in Education course. It is an instructors manual that can
guide other educators in teaching the following instructional unit.
OUT OF QUADRATIC
FUNCTIONS
An Instructors Manual
Getting the Maximum Out of Quadratic Functions 1
TAT2 Task 3: The Instructors Manual
This document is to serve as a manual for an educator to implement a plan of instruction
over solving quadratic functions. Specifically, this is (approximately) an eight-hour unit on
solving quadratic functions using four different methods: factoring, completing the square,
extracting square roots, and the quadratic formula.
Overview of the Plan of Instruction
Instructional Goal:
Post instruction, Algebra II students will be able to solve quadratic functions to find
roots/zeroes algebraically by factoring, extracting square roots, completing the square, the
quadratic formula, and identify when one method is preferred over the others with at least an
80% success rate.
Performance Objectives
The following is a list of instructional objectives used in this unit plan:
Performance Objective 1: When presented with a quadratic function with an a term
equal to one, students will correctly factor to solve for the real roots/zeroes of the
function 8 out of 10 times.

Performance Objective 2: When presented with a quadratic function with an a term
greater than one, students will correctly factor to solve for the real roots/zeroes of the

Performance Objective 3: When presented with a non-factorable quadratic function,
students will be able to complete the square to solve for the roots/zeroes of the function
8 out of 10 times.
Performance Objective 4: When presented with a quadratic function in the form (x h),
students will be able to extract square roots to solve for the roots/zeroes of the function
8 out of 10 times.
Performance Objective 5: When presented with any quadratic function, students will be
able to use the Quadratic Formula to solve for the roots/zeroes of the function 8 out of 10
times.
Performance Objective 6: When asked how many or what types of roots/zeroes a
quadratic function has, students will be able to use the discriminant to determine if the
quadratic function has 2 real roots, 1 real root, or 2 non-real roots 8 out of 10 times.
Performance Objective 7: When presented with any quadratic function, students will be
able to determine which method is most appropriate to solve for the roots/zeroes of the

Performance Objective 8: When presented with real world quadratic function problems,
students will be able to apply their newly learned techniques to solve for the correct
answers 4 out of 5 times.
Intended Audience:
The instructional setting is an eleventh grade, Algebra II classroom covering six different
classes in a large suburban high school located in Tennessee. Students in the intended audience
are quite diverse. Demographics and statistics over the intended audience are as follows: over
the last five school years there has been an average of 34.6% of the almost 2000 students
receiving free/reduced price lunch and in this past school year 29.6% of students were classified
as economically disadvantaged. In this instructional setting, 72% of students are white, 16.2%
are black or African American, 6.3% identify as Asian, 5% identify as Hispanic or Latino, and
the other 0.5% are Native American. With less than 12% of the school population identifying
with a foreign ethnicity it would coincide that the English Language Learner population would
be fairly small. In fact, there are only 13 such students or just 0.7% of the total in the English as
a Second Language program. A key area with a larger population is students with disabilities.
There are nearly 250 students with disabilities in the instructional settings school, or 13.4%.
Essentially, this instructional unit is designed to reach all types of learners from all walks of life.
Length:
This instructional unit is designed to be completed in 10 school days on a traditional
schedule (45-50 minute class periods). Eight of those days are instructional days with six lessons
(2 two-day lessons). Day nine is dedicated to a group project that requires the knowledge
learned over the six lessons and day ten is assessment day in the form of a test.
Delivery Approach:
The beginning of each lesson will begin with a short activity, discussion, or video
designed to do at least two of the following four things: gain the learners attention, motivate the
learner, connect preexisting knowledge to new information, and provide relevance to what will
be learned. After the introduction, all six lessons will have a presentation of new content.
Different lessons have different delivering mechanisms. Most have a combination of lecturing
combined with demonstrations of how to solve the different types of problems. Other lessons (or
parts of two-day lessons) will provide opportunities for students to learn through exploration.
After the presentation of new content, students will have an opportunity to work with the
material and practice their newly learned skills. It is important that students work through and
complete activities while receiving feedback from the teacher. This feedback is especially
imperative for those learners who are having difficulties with the new material. Finally, each
lesson will have a closure activity or discussion that will bring together the newly learned
material with prior knowledge in an effort to enhance retention.

Instructional Sequence:
This unit is generally sequenced from easier materials/methods to more difficult. Each of
the first four days of the unit will have its own lesson and will cover three of the four methods
for solving quadratic functions. Lesson 1 will address factoring quadratic functions with an a
term equal to one to solve for roots/zeroes. Lesson 2 will be quite similar to Lesson 1, but will
deal with quadratic functions with an a term greater than one. Lesson 3 will teach students how
to solve quadratic functions by completing the square and Lesson 4 will deal with quadratic
functions that present themselves in a different form and students will learn how to solve by
extracting square roots. Days five and six will cover one lesson over the Quadratic Formula (the
fourth method for solving quadratic functions). Days seven and eight will also cover one lesson
(identifying the appropriate method and real world applications). Day nines activity will be a
student led, group project: The Tennis Ball Project. Finally, on day ten, students will be
formally assessed on all skills through an exam.
Materials Needed:
Materials for this unit include the obvious necessities of a math classroom like pencil and
paper. Other basic needs include the textbook and a graphing calculator. Also needed is access
to YouTube to play videos for instructional hooks to gain attention (teacher computer, projector,
Internet). For bell work and daily instruction WorkSpace software used in conjunction with a
Moby Interwrite tablet is necessary. Most daily work will come as problem sets from the
Algebra II textbook. As an assessment, students will receive the The Tennis Ball Project
information packet (Parts 5 and 6). For this project, each group will need a tennis ball, at least
one stopwatch, and a yard stick. To finish this unit students will be given a summative test that
will assess all skills taught. Other materials that will be provided to all students will be a class
set of iPads for lesson three on day three. The students will need an iPad in order to use
Educreations to create their own video. A few iPads will also be available on day five (lesson
five) for students who do not have their own device to be able to participate in the Kahoot
practice game.
Lesson Descriptions
Lesson 1:
In this lesson, students will be building on their basic prior knowledge of quadratic
functions. Being the first lesson in the quadratic functions unit, it is important that the lesson
begins with something interesting that they are familiar with and will gain their attention. Since
this lesson will be closely related to prior instruction they received in Algebra I, it will probably
be the easiest lesson for the students in the unit. Students will learn how to factor and solve
quadratic functions with an a term equal to one. They will practice this new skill in their group
setting as well as individually.
Lesson 2:
In this lesson, students will continue to build on the skills learned in Lesson 1. The
difference in todays lesson will be that the a term of the quadratic functions will not be 1, but a
number larger than one. These types of quadratics can still be factorable, but are more difficult.
Students will learn how to factor quadratic functions with an a term greater than one. They will
practice this new skill with a partner and individually.
Lesson 3:
In this lesson, students will learn how to solve non-factorable quadratic functions
algebraically by completing the square. Students will come to see not all quadratic functions
are factorable, so a new method is needed to be able to solve them algebraically. One such
method to do this is to complete the square. Students will learn how to solve quadratic
functions by completing the square and they will practice this new skill with a partner.
Lesson 4:
In this lesson, students will be presented with quadratic functions that are not in standard
form. This is a break from the first three lessons. Instead, in this lesson, the quadratic functions
will look more like vertex form. Students will be asked to solve these by extracting square roots.
Students will learn how to solve quadratic functions by extracting square roots and will practice
this in groups and individually.
Lesson 5:
In this lesson, students will learn that they can solve ANY quadratic function (in standard
form) using the Quadratic Formula. There will be quadratic functions that will arise that are non-
factorable, are immensely difficult to complete the square, and are not setup to extract square
roots. For these problems, we need to use the Quadratic Formula. This will be a two-day lesson
and the second part of the lesson will deal specifically with the part of the Quadratic Formula
called the Discriminant. Students will learn that the value of the discriminant will give critical
information about the solution that they find. If the discriminant gives a value greater than zero,
the there are two real roots. If the discriminant gives a value of zero, there is one real root.
Finally, if the discriminant gives a value less than zero, then there are two non-real, or imaginary,
roots.
Lesson 6:
This is another two-day lesson and the last of the new material taught for the unit. On
day one, students will be tasked with deciding which method they could use to solve given
quadratic functions. For most quadratic functions, more than one method and can be used to
solve. In these instances, students should be able to identify the path of least resistance. On day
2 of the lesson, students will need every resource available to them as the class shifts away from
computational tasks and towards critical thinking and problem solving. Students will see a
variety of problems that show quadratic functions directly and indirectly impacting things that
happen in the real world, and not just the controlled classroom environment. This is where they
will put their newly learned skills to the test and see if they can do things such as: find the
maximum height of a thrown ball, determine how long an object is in flight, and discover the
initial velocity of objects like bullets or missiles.
Assessing Student Performance
Informal, formative assessments will occur daily as the instructor circulates around the
classroom while the students are working on their assignments. In addition to circulation while
the students are working, the instructor will present the students with varying questions to assess
their daily learning. Each days work will serve as a formative assessment that will guide the
instructor where remediation needs to occur. In addition to these various forms of formative
assessment there will be two forms of summative assessment. The first will be a group project
where students must use their own data to create a quadratic function and answer a series of
questions (The Tennis Ball Project). The second summative assessment will be in the form of an
exam that will help in preparing the students for their state test at the end of the year.
Delivery of Instruction
The beginning of each lesson will begin with a short activity, discussion, or video
designed to do at least two of the following four things: gain the learners attention, motivate the
learner, connect preexisting knowledge to new information, and provide relevance to what will
be learned. After the introduction, all six lessons will have a presentation of new content.
Different lessons have different delivering mechanisms. Most have a combination of lecturing
combined with demonstrations of how to solve the different types of problems. Other lessons (or
parts of two-day lessons) will provide opportunities for students to learn through exploration.
After the presentation of new content, students will have an opportunity to work with the
material and practice their newly learned skills. For most lessons, students will complete
traditional practice problem sets. For other lessons, students will have the opportunity to practice
and reinforce newly learned skills through Kahoot (an online, competitive, quiz-style game). It
is important that students work through and complete activities while receiving feedback from
the teacher. This feedback is especially imperative for those learners who are having difficulties
with the new material. After the third lesson, and probably the most difficult, students will have
the opportunity to use Educreations. Educreations is in iPad application that allows students to
record and narrate their work. Students will be able to assess and critique their peers work.
Finally, each lesson will have a closure activity or discussion that will bring together the
newly learned material with prior knowledge in an effort to enhance retention. In extended
closure activities and on two different occasions over the course of the unit, students will
complete an online homework assignment created on Quizizz. Quizizz is an online program that
students can use to access a private, teacher created quizzes or homework assignments.
Instructional Materials
1. Holt McDougal Algebra II Textbook 2. Lesson 4 Bell Work problems

4. Extracting Square Roots YouTube
3. T-shirt gun YouTube video
video
5. Lesson 1 Group Work problems 6. Lesson 4 Group Work problems
7. Lesson 1 Exit Ticket 8. Lesson 5 Bell Work problems
9. Lesson 2 Bell Work problems 10. Lesson 5 Kahoot quiz
11. Lesson 2 Quizizz homework
12. Lesson 6 Bell Work Problems
assignment
13. Lesson 3 Bell Work problems 14. Lesson 6 Quizizz homework
assignment
15. Class set of iPads with Educreations 16. Tennis Ball Project (parts 5 and 6)
17. Teach Me How to Factor YouTube
18. Solving Quadratic Functions Unit Test
video
Physical Resources
1. Internet capable teacher computer 2. Projector

3. MOBI Interwrite Tablet (or a device 4. Calculators
that can substitute like Apple TV with
an iPad)
5. Class set of iPads (available for at 6. Stopwatches, tennis balls, and yard
least a day) sticks
Lesson Plans and Assessments
Title and/or Lesson Plan #: Lesson #1 Teach Me How to Factor
Lesson Overview: In this lesson students will be building on their basic prior knowledge of
quadratic functions. Being the first lesson in the quadratic functions unit, it is important that the
lesson begins with something interesting that they are familiar with and will gain their attention.
Another important aspect, in regards to it being the first lesson in the unit, is that all students are
able to experience some type of success. Since this lesson will be closely related to prior
instruction they received in Algebra I, it will probably be the easiest lesson for the students in
the unit. Students will learn how to factor quadratic functions with an a term equal to one.
They will practice this new skill in their group setting as well as individually.
Resources or Materials Needed
1. Introductory video and Teach Me How to Factor YouTube video

2. WorkSpace software and MOBI Interwrite Tablet
3. Example Problems on index cards for group work
4. Textbook and corresponding problem set
5. Exit Ticket
Performance Objective #1:
When presented with a quadratic function with an a term equal to one, students will
correctly factor to solve for the real roots/zeroes of the function 8 out of 10 times.
Time: One 47-minute class period
Step 1: Pre-Instructional Activities
As students enter the classroom they will be greeted with a video of a pep rally, like one
they have all attended at our own school. The point of emphasis in this video will be the t-shirt
gun. After attendance has been taken, the video will be paused at a point where the t-shirt gun
was just fired and the t-shirt is midflight. We will have a brief discussion about the arc that
models the flight of the t-shirt. The following question will be posed: If more information were
provided, could we find the velocity of the t-shirt coming out of the gun? Ultimately, a problem
like this is what we want to be able to solve with our abilities with quadratic functions.
Step 2: Content Presentation
To present the new material to the class the teacher will model working through several
example problems explaining the steps and processes. Using the MOBI Interwrite tablet, the
teacher will be able to move about the room and allow students to take control of the MOBI to
work through and explain a problem to the class in their own words. After working through a
number of problems the class will watch Teach Me How to Factor. This is music video to the
tune Teach Me How to Dougie created by a group of high school students in Ohio. This will
serve to keep the students attention and reinforce the direct instruction.
Step 3: Learner Participation
Some students will get the opportunity to work problems with the MOBI for the class to
see. After instruction, the video, and questions are addressed, students will get into small groups
and work on two examples provided by the teacher. After a few minutes, the groups will take
turns presenting their work to the class by working out, while explaining, the problems on the
white board. This open forum classroom discussion of the problems will provide opportunities
for the learners to receive feedback and for incorrect thinking to be resolved. When this has
concluded, each student will begin working on the problem set from the textbook: page 338-339
numbers 2-6, 12-15, and 21-26. They will be allowed to work with their shoulder buddy on 2-6,
but the rest must be done individually.
Step 4: Assessment
Informal assessment occurs as the teacher monitors interactions during group work and
partner work. Students will be assessed on their 10 individual problems where they must get 8
out of 10 correct. At the end of the unit students will also be formally assessed on this
performance objective via an exam on day ten (See Appendix A).
Step 5: Follow-Through Activities
The following lesson will also deal with factoring, so the new information in this lesson
will be important for the next class. Students will be given an exit ticket with two questions to
answer that the teacher will be able to use to gauge the class proficiency and comfort level with
factoring quadratic functions with an a term equal to one.

Title and/or Lesson Plan #: Lesson #2 Factoring Quadratic Functions, Part 2
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students will continue to build on the skills learned in Lesson
1. The difference in todays lesson will be that the a term of the quadratic functions will not be
1, but a number larger than one. These types of quadratics can still be factorable, but are more
difficult. Students will learn how to factor quadratic functions with an a term greater than one.
They will practice this new skill with a partner and individually.
Resources or Materials Needed:
1. Bell work problems

2. WorkSpace software and MOBI Interwrite tablet
4. Quizizz homework assignment
When presented with a quadratic function with an a term greater than one, students will
correctly factor to solve for the real roots/zeroes of the function 8 out of 10 times.
As students enter the room they will see Bell Work problems being projected onto the
screen. The first few problems will be factoring problems from Lesson 1. Then there will be
two factoring problems where the a term is greater than one (todays lesson). The idea is to
introduce the new type of problem by showing the students that we will still factor, but the
process is different and we can identify this difference based on the a term.
work through and explain a problem to the class in their own words. This will allow students to
work out an example and share their thoughts on the process. All students will have an
opportunity to ask questions about that students work or about the problems in general.
see. After instruction and questions are addressed students will begin working on the problem
set from the textbook (page 338-339 numbers 7-11 and 16-20). These problems can be done
with their shoulder buddy. In addition to these exercises, students will also complete a
homework assignment on Quizizz (a web-based, homework/assessment program) individually.
Step 4: Assessment
Informal assessment occurs as the teacher monitors interactions during partner work and
group discussion. Students will be assessed on the Quizizz homework assignment where they
must get 8 out of 10 correct. At the end of the unit students will also be formally assessed on this
performance objective via an exam on day 10 (See Appendix A).
The Quizizz homework assignment will serve as a follow-through activity. Also, later in
the unit, students must recall todays skill in order to be able to identify which method to use to
solve a quadratic function.

Title and/or Lesson Plan #: Lesson #3 Completing the Square
Lesson Overview: In this lesson students will learn how to solve non-factorable quadratic
functions algebraically by completing the square. Students will come to see not all quadratic
functions are factorable, so a new method is needed to be able to solve them algebraically. One
such method to do this is to complete the square. Students will learn how to solve quadratic
functions by completing the square and they will practice this new skill with a partner.

4. Class set of iPads with Educreations
When presented with a non-factorable quadratic function, students will be able to
complete the square to solve for the roots/zeroes of the function 8 out of 10 times.
screen. They will recognize the problems as quadratic functions from Lesson 1 and 2. They will
be asked to factor them using the skills they learned in those lessons, but they will not be able to.
The idea is to introduce the new type of problem by showing students that not all quadratic
functions presented in standard form is factorable. This makes for a perfect segue into the
lesson.
work through and explain a problem to the class in their own words. This will allow students to
work out an example and share their thoughts on the process. All students will have an
opportunity to ask questions about that students work or about the problems in general.
set from the textbook (page 345 numbers 5-13 and 27). Problems 5-9 can be done with their
shoulder buddy. The others should be completed individually. After students have had a chance
to start and complete most of the exercise, they will choose a practice problem on page 346 to do
using Educreations on the iPad. Each student will have access to an iPad and will create their
video (show their work doing the problem and narrate their work) for their peers to view,
analyze, and critique.
Step 4: Assessment
group discussion. Students will be assessed on their textbook exercises, their Educreations
video, and the group discussion that stems from the videos. At the end of the unit, students will
also be formally assessed on this performance objective via an exam on day 10 (See Appendix
A).
At the end of the unit, the student created videos will be revisited and class discussion
will be had about what they would do differently if given this task again. Also, later in the unit,
students must recall todays skill in order to be able to identify which method to use to solve a
quadratic function.
Title and/or Lesson Plan #: Lesson #4 Extracting Square Roots
Lesson Overview: In this lesson students will be presented with quadratic functions that are not
in standard form. This is a break from the first three lessons. Instead, in this lesson, the
quadratic functions will look more like vertex form. Students will be asked to solve these by
extracting square roots. Students will learn how to solve quadratic functions by extracting
square roots and will practice this in groups and individually.

3. Extracting Square Roots YouTube video
4. Group work problems
When presented with a quadratic function in the form (x h), students will be able to
extract square roots to solve for the roots/zeroes of the function 8 out of 10 times.
screen. Todays lead up problems will include one of each kind from lessons 1-3. Todays new
problems will look so different from these that they need to be introduced by the teacher. So, the
bell work problems will give the students an opportunity to refresh and reinforce skills from the
previous three days.
As a review to prerequisite knowledge that students should have, a YouTube video over
extracting square roots will be shown. Extracting square roots is just part of the process to
solving some quadratic function though. To present the new material to the class the teacher will
model working through several example problems explaining the steps and processes. Using the
MOBI Interwrite tablet, the teacher will be able to move about the room and allow students to
take control of the MOBI to work through and explain a problem to the class in their own words.
This will allow students to work out an example and share their thoughts on the process. All
students will have an opportunity to ask questions about that students work or about the
problems in general. Besides the first lesson, this is easiest method to use to solve a quadratic
function.
set from the textbook (page 353-354 numbers 7-10, 18-22, and 33). Problems 7-10 can be done
with their shoulder buddy. The others should be completed individually. After the students have
had a chance to begin their problem set, the group activity will begin. Each group will be given
a quadratic function to solve by extracting square roots. They will need to solve the problem and
then go and find the solution posted on the wall (in different locations) around the room. After
this quick group activity, students will complete the rest of their problem set from the textbook.
Step 4: Assessment
group discussion. Students will be assessed on their textbook exercises, their group work, and
the group discussion that arises. At the end of the unit, students will also be formally assessed on
this performance objective via an exam on day 10 (See Appendix A).

The ability to extract square roots will be especially important in the next lesson (Lesson
5) because it is vital that students have the skills to manipulate radicals to simplify answers from
the Quadratic Formula. Also, later in the unit, students must recall todays skill in order to be
able to identify which method to use to solve a quadratic function.

Title and/or Lesson Plan #: Lesson #5 The Quadratic Formula and the Discriminant
Lesson Overview: In this lesson students will learn that they can solve ANY quadratic function
(in standard form) using the Quadratic Formula. There will be quadratic functions that will arise
that are non-factorable, are immensely difficult to complete the square, and are not setup to
extract square roots. For these problems, we need to use the Quadratic Formula. This will be a
two-day lesson and the second part of the lesson will deal specifically with the part of the
Quadratic Formula called the Discriminant. Students will learn that the value of the discriminant
will give critical information about the solution that they find. If the discriminant gives a value
greater than zero, the there are two real roots. If the discriminant gives a value of zero, there is
one real root. Finally, if the discriminant gives a value less than zero, then there are two non-
real, or imaginary, roots.

3. Kahoot game quiz
Performance Objectives #5:
When presented with any quadratic function, students will be able to use the Quadratic
Formula to solve for the roots/zeroes of the function 8 out of 10 times.
Performance Objectives #6:
When asked how many or what types of roots/zeroes a quadratic function has, students
will be able to use the discriminant to determine if the quadratic function has 2 real roots,
1 real root, or 2 non-real roots 8 out of 10 times.
Time: Two 47-minute class periods

Day 1: As students enter the room they will see Bell Work problems being projected onto
the screen. These bell work problems will be a combination of familiar looking quadratic
functions in standard form. They will be asked to solve them using any method done in class to
this point. They will see that they are unable to fully solve them. This will be a perfect lead up
to a discussion about the Quadratic Formula and that it will always work to solve quadratic
functions.
Day 2: As students enter the classroom they will see a problem for them to do that looks
very similar to the problems that they learned to do the day before. As they work through the
problem, they will come to see that in one of the last steps there is a computational problem that
many will not know how to work around. This will lead to the discussion of the possible answer
types (type and number of roots/zeroes) that a quadratic function can have. Since the solutions
can vary in degree and number it makes sense to have a way to figure out what they should look
like; thus we have the discriminant.
Day 1: The pre-instructional activity will lead to a class discussion (and perhaps
frustration) about the problems they are running into when solving these quadratic functions.
The teacher will then explain that not all quadratic functions can be solved using the methods
learned to this point, but that we can always use the Quadratic Formula. To present this new
material to the class the teacher will model working through several example problems
explaining the steps and processes. Using the MOBI Interwrite tablet, the teacher will be able to
move about the room and allow students to take control of the MOBI to work through and
explain a problem to the class in their own words. This will allow students to work out an
example and share their thoughts on the process. All students will have an opportunity to ask
questions about that students work or about the problems in general.
Day 2: The bell work will lead directly into a discussion of what the discriminant is,
where it comes from, how we use it, and what its value indicates about a given function. The
computation used in finding the value is not difficult, so there will be no need for prolonged
direct instruction. To this point in the unit we will have discussed the types and number of roots
for a quadratic function, but now we have a way to find that information up front, thanks to the
part of the Quadratic Formula known as the discriminant.
Day 1: Some students will get the opportunity to work problems with the MOBI for the
class to see. After instruction and questions are addressed students will begin working on the
problem set from the textbook (page 361 numbers 2-11). Problems 2-6 can be done with their
shoulder buddy. The others should be completed individually. After students have had a chance
to complete the first five problems with their partner, the class will participate in a Kahoot game.
This will give the students an opportunity to put their newly learned skills to the test and
compete with their peers. After the Kahoot, students will finish the rest of their problem set.
Day 2: In this activity there will be a lot of moving pieces. Each student will be assigned
as either an a, b, or c term. They will also be given a numeric value. They will meet in
groups of three around the classroom (ensuring each group has an a, b, and c present) and
determine the number and type of roots/zeroes a quadratic function with their values would have.
After a full rotation around the classroom where individuals have met with 6 groups, the class
will reconvene. As a class, we will discuss a handful of the dozens of combinations and then we
will see if any group came up with a particularly interesting solution. Meeting in numerous
different groups with other students of all ability levels will allow for plenty of opportunities to
receive feedback. If there are questions remaining when the class comes back together, they can
be addressed at that time. After the activity, students will work on a problem set from the
textbook (page 361 numbers 14-16, 30-35, and 42). Problems 14-16 can be completed with their
shoulder buddy and the remainder will be completed individually.
Step 4: Assessment
the Kahoot. At the end of the unit, students will also be formally assessed on this performance
objective via an exam on day 10 (See Appendix A).
Solving using the Quadratic Formula is the most critical skill students will learn in this
unit. This is because it is a fail-safe. If students did not learn or totally forget how to use the
other methods, this will always work. In the lesson to follow, the problems will get more
difficult and being able to use this method is a must. Also, identifying the type and number of
solutions is an important skill because students can identify what their answer should look like
before they solve for it. They can use this to make sure their solutions make sense.
Title and/or Lesson Plan #: Lesson 6 Which Method is Best? And Real World Applications
Lesson Overview: This is another two-day lesson and the last of the new material taught for the
unit. On day one, students will be tasked with deciding which method they could use to solve
given quadratic functions. For most quadratic functions, more than one method and can be used
to solve. In these instances, students should be able to identify the path of least resistance. On
day 2 of the lesson, students will need every resource available to them as the class shifts away
from computational tasks and towards critical thinking and problem solving. Students will see a
variety of problems that show quadratic functions directly and indirectly impacting things that
happen in the real world, and not just the controlled classroom environment. This is where they
will put their newly learned skills to the test and see if they can do things such as: find the
maximum height of a thrown ball, determine how long an object is in flight, and discover the
initial velocity of objects like bullets or missiles.

3. Quizizz homework assignment
5. Stopwatch, tennis ball, and yard stick
When presented with any quadratic function, students will be able to determine which
method is most appropriate to solve for the roots/zeroes of the function 8 out of 10 times.
When presented with real world quadratic function problems, students will be able to
apply their newly learned techniques to solve for the correct answers 4 out of 5 times.
Time: Two 47-minute class periods

Day 1: As students enter the room they will see Bell Work problems being projected onto
the screen. These bell work problems will be a combination of familiar looking quadratic
functions. They will not be asked to solve these quadratic functions, simply asked to choose
which of the four methods they would use to solve them. This will lead to a discussion of how
quadratic functions can present themselves and if one method is better suited to solve it than
another.
Day 2: As students enter the classroom they will again see the video playing that they
saw on the first day of this instructional unit: the video of the pep rally focusing on the t-shirt
gun launching shirts into the crowd. Immediately they will think back to the first day of the unit
and reflect on all the instruction they have received since. Hopefully, they will consider the
question there were asked on day one: What is the velocity of the t-shirt coming out of the gun?
As class begins we will go back to the still shot of the graph created by considering the arcing
line from the t-shirt gun, through the t-shirt in flight, and to its expected landing.
Day 1: With the first part of the lesson there will be little direct instruction. This is
because todays part of the lesson simply builds on previously learned skills. The teacher will
present a handful of problems that will serve as the focus for a classroom discussion about which
method would be best to solve the quadratic function and why.
Day 2: Like day 1, there will not be any new content presented; however, the students
way of thinking about the math problems must be aided in shifting away from a strictly
computational focus to considering what the question is asking and the information it is
providing to assist in finding the solution. To begin, the question from day one will be
addressed. To answer this question, the students will need to be familiar with the quadratic
function, due to gravity, of a projectile [ h(t) = -16t + vt + h ]. Once an understanding has been
established of this particular quadratic function, the class can consider what it needs to know to
determine the initial velocity of the t-shirt.
Day 1: After the class has come to an agreement about which method is best and why,
the students will begin working on the problem set from the textbook (page 394 numbers 53-62).
The first five can be completed with their shoulder buddy and the last five should be done
individually.
Day 2: Todays activity will begin with a demonstration outside in the courtyard. In a
preview of what the students will be doing the following day in the Tennis Ball Project, the
teacher will explain that a volunteer will throw a tennis ball as high and as far as they can.
Another volunteer will use the stopwatch to record the time of the flight. Thinking back to the t-
shirt gun example, students will work in small groups to take the data from the thrown tennis ball
and create a new function that models the flight of the tennis ball (using the same function for a
projectile). After comparing their functions to other groups, they will reconvene in their small
groups and determine the following: initial velocity of the tennis ball, maximum height of the
tennis ball, and how long it took the tennis ball to reach that maximum. For homework, students
will complete a Quizizz homework assignment.
Step 4: Assessment
the Quizizz homework assignment. At the end of the unit, students will also be formally
assessed on this performance objective via an exam on day 10 (See Appendix A).
The skills obtained and used in this lesson will not only go a long way in being successful
in math classrooms, but also being successful in other classes and life. The ability to work
together, think critically, and problem solve are essential skills in todays world. Aside from this,
students will begin a group project (See Appendix B) that builds off the tennis ball demonstration
used in this lesson. For this project, groups will need to work together to create a function for
each individual and compare and contrast initial velocities, heights at varying times, and
maximum heights using various methods.

Title and/or Lesson Plan #: Day 9 How High Can You Throw a Tennis Ball Project
This will be a student led, group project (See Appendix B) where students use their
knowledge of quadratic functions to create their own data and solve for key features. To do this
project students will need Sections 5 and 6 from the How High Can You Throw a Tennis Ball
Project Packet, a yard stick, a stopwatch, and a tennis ball. They will complete this project as
part of their summative assessment. This project was created by teachers in Whatcom County,
Washington and taken from their website (Whatcom Math Projects).
Title and/or Lesson Plan #: Day 10 Solving Quadratic Functions Test
Test day is the final day of the unit (See Appendix A). This is where students will reveal
how much they have learned over the course of the unit. This is a summative assessment in the
form of a multiple-choice test to be given on the last day of the unit. Copies can be made and
then distributed to the students on test day for completion. There are different types of problems
that cover all objectives taught. There are 15 questions and the values can be adjusted by the
teacher to ensure fair scoring.

Appendix A
Appendix B
Tennis Ball Project (Parts 5 and 6)

V. APPLICATION:
This part of the lesson will require students to work in teams of 4 students; smaller
teams are feasible if you have enough supplies.
Each group will need the handout provided with the lesson, a tennis ball, a
stopwatch, a meter stick and a graphing calculator. Groups should be self-paced
with the teacher monitoring appropriate behavior and helping with any student
difficulties.
Follow the introduction as outlined above.
Introduce the quadratic function relating height and time: h(t) = 16t2 + v0t
+ h0 as outlined in the lesson section above.
Student groups will go outside and perform the experiment. Allow enough
time for each student to throw the ball. This will allow them the opportunity
to build an equation unique to them. If there are enough stop watches,
multiple students could time each flight in order to get a more accurate time.
Before any group begins, model the experiment with one of the groups:
o Have the student approximate the height when they will release the
ball.
o Have another students measure this height This is the initial height of
the ball.
o When a student is throwing, start the watch at the point when the ball
is released from the hand (initial height).
o Stop the watch at the instant the ball touches the ground This will
give them a height, h(t), and a corresponding time, t.
o Since the time pertains to the thrower (so that they may build their
own equation), have the students record for each other.
o Encourage the students to practice throwing at least once before
conducting their trials.
After completing the experiment outside, students should return to the

classroom in order to work on building their equation.
o Students should begin with the basic quadratic equation relating height
and time: h(t) = 16t2 + v0t + h0
o Students should plug in what they know: h0 is their initial height, h(t) is
the height when they stopped the watch, 0 feet, and t is the time when
the ball hit the ground (their average of the three times they recorded).
o Students should then solve for the initial velocity, v0
o This will allow them to build a quadratic to measure any height at any
time based on their data.
Once the students have a workable quadratic and have them check it for
accuracy (by hand or on their graphing calculator).
o Students can check by hand by plugging in zero for the height and the
time it reached the ground.
o Students can check with their graphing calculator by plugging the
equation in and checking the point when the ball hit the ground.
After the students have checked their equations, have them calculate the
maximum height (find the vertex) by hand and with their calculator.
o Students can find the vertex by hand by solving t = b/2a and
plugging this result in for t in the equation and simplifying to find the
corresponding h(t). Refer to the example in Section IV (Lesson).
Once all of the students have found their heights, have them determine who
threw the ball the highest in their group. Have everyone share their data
with the class and talk about the results...
o Which student threw the ball the highest?
o In order to find the actual distance the ball was thrown, have the
students subtract their initial height from their maximum height. Did
the same student still throw the ball the highest?
EXTENSION:
This extension could be used for classes where stoichiometry/dimensional
analysis/unit
conversions are covered or would like to be covered. An example is shown below
and
uses the same data as the example in Section IV (Lesson)
Have the students use stoichiometry/dimensional analysis/unit conversions in

order to convert their initial velocity from feet per second to miles per hour.
Which student threw the ball the fastest?
Example:
Student A threw the ball will an initial velocity of 49.246875 feet/sec
49.246875feet/sec 60sec/1min 60min/1hour 1mile/5280feet =
33.577mph
CONCLUSION:
The students initial velocity should be between 20 and 80 feet/sec. Their

maximum heights should be between 10 and 100 feet high.
VI. RESOURCES:
HOW HIGH CAN YOU THROW A BALL?
NAME:
Student Resource Packet
TEACHER: DATE: PERIOD:
1. Explain why the height as a function of time is best represented by a quadratic

equation.
2. The basic equation for an object traveling perpendicular to the earth and being
affected by gravity is h(t) = 16t2 + v0t + h0 with h(t) representing height (as a
function of time) in feet, t representing time in seconds, v0 representing the
initial velocity in feet per second, h0 representing the initial height in feet, and
16 being the gravity constant in feet per second squared.
a. Of the four variables, which can you determine or establish at the start of
the experiment? How can we determine them?
b. Of the four variables, which can you determine during the experiment?
How will you determine it?
c. Of the four variables, which is the most difficult to determine? How will you
determine it?
3. Perform the experiment a minimum of three times in order to determine the

values needed for part 2b. Record that information here:
Trial # 1 2 3
Time (t)
4. Find the average of your three throws.
5. What values do you now have for your equation? Plug them in and solve for
the remaining variable in order to create a quadratic equation that you can use
to model the height of you ball as a function of time.
Your Equation: _____________________________________
6. Check the accuracy of your equation by hand or using your calculator. Show
your work or explain how your calculator verified your solution.
7. Now that you have a working quadratic to model the height of your ball at any
given time, use it to calculate the maximum height.
8. Graph your function by plotting a point every .2 seconds (Use increments of .2

seconds on the t-axis, but you determine the best fit for the h(t)-axis). In
addition, label the vertex, x-intercept, and y-intercept.
9. Determine the distance your threw the ball (max height minus the initial
height)
Extension problem
10. Your initial velocity was in feet per second. Determine the speed of your ball in
miles per hour.
References
Whatcom Math Projects. (2009, November). Retrieved from
https://bellinghamschools.org/sites/default/files/WCMP/teachers.htm

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GETTING THE MAXIMUM

TAT2 Task 3: The Instructors Manual

This document is to serve as a manual for an educator to implement a plan of instruction

over solving quadratic functions. Specifically, this is (approximately) an eight-hour unit on

extracting square roots, and the quadratic formula.

Overview of the Plan of Instruction

80% success rate.

The following is a list of instructional objectives used in this unit plan:

Performance Objective 1: When presented with a quadratic function with an a term

function 8 out of 10 times.

function 8 out of 10 times.

function 8 out of 10 times.

answers 4 out of 5 times.

This instructional unit is designed to be completed in 10 school days on a traditional

material with prior knowledge in an effort to enhance retention.

formally assessed on all skills through an exam.

setting as well as individually.

practice this new skill with a partner and individually.

this in groups and individually.

initial velocity of objects like bullets or missiles.

Assessing Student Performance

1. Holt McDougal Algebra II Textbook 2. Lesson 4 Bell Work problems

1. Internet capable teacher computer 2. Projector

Lesson Plans and Assessments

Title and/or Lesson Plan #: Lesson #1 Teach Me How to Factor

Resources or Materials Needed

1. Introductory video and Teach Me How to Factor YouTube video

Performance Objective #1:

Time: One 47-minute class period

Step 1: Pre-Instructional Activities

Step 2: Content Presentation

Step 3: Learner Participation

but the rest must be done individually.

performance objective via an exam on day ten (See Appendix A).

Step 5: Follow-Through Activities

factoring quadratic functions with an a term equal to one.

Title and/or Lesson Plan #: Lesson #2 Factoring Quadratic Functions, Part 2

Resources or Materials Needed:

1. Bell work problems

Performance Objective #2:

Time: One 47-minute class period

Step 1: Pre-Instructional Activities

Step 2: Content Presentation

Step 3: Learner Participation

homework assignment on Quizizz (a web-based, homework/assessment program) individually.

performance objective via an exam on day 10 (See Appendix A).

Step 5: Follow-Through Activities

solve a quadratic function.

Title and/or Lesson Plan #: Lesson #3 Completing the Square

Resources or Materials Needed:

1. Bell work problems

Performance Objective #3:

When presented with a non-factorable quadratic function, students will be able to

Time: One 47-minute class period

Step 1: Pre-Instructional Activities

Step 2: Content Presentation

Step 3: Learner Participation

analyze, and critique.