Beyond-the-Basic Productivity Tools (BBPT)

Lesson Idea Name: Mind-Mapping Parent Functions

Content Area/Grade Level(s): Algebra II; 9-12
Content Standard Addressed:
MGSE9-12.F.IF.7 Graph functions expressed algebraically and show key features of the graph both
by hand and by using technology.

Technology Standard Addressed:

Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce
creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.

Guiding Question(s): What are some defining characteristics of parent functions? How can we find
them?

Selected Technology Tool: Bubbl.us

URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable): https://bubbl.us/help/intro-to-bubblus

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☐ Remembering ☐ Understanding ☐ Applying ☐ Analyzing ☐ Evaluating ☒ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration:

☒ Infusion Level: Students may work at a higher Bloom’s Level, but they do not have any “Voice or
Choice” during the activity and most of the decisions are made by the teacher.

☐ Integration Level: We would like to see ALL lessons/activities reach this level. The project is
student-driven and student-led. Students should have “Voice and Choice” in the activities,
selecting the topic of study and determining the technology tool to demonstrate mastery of the
standard. The teacher becomes more of a facilitator.

☐ Expansion Level: The projects created are shared outside of the classroom, publishing student
work and promoting authorship. This could be reached by showcasing the project on the school’s
morning newscast, posting the project to the classroom blog, or publishing via an outside source.
Your student’s projects must be shared locally or globally to meet this level.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Bubbl.us has a free version that is accessible to all students via
the Internet. While there are some benefits to paid versions, the free version would be all that is
needed for this activity, meaning it is available for all students to use. This activity would allow
students to showcase information as they saw fit. There are options for zoom, text size/color and
box color change, background color/image change, and various layouts, so students can arrange
their “mind maps” in ways that they can see/interact with best. This supports students with seeing
impairments. Students can upload photos/files, which incorporates multiple means of
representation. Uploading photos/files would also enhance the experience for EL students who may
yet struggle with certain vocabulary words. Bubbl.us allows students to download “mind maps” as
TFrazier, 2021
 Beyond-the-Basic Productivity Tools (BBPT)

plain text too, which could then be used in tandem with a screen/file reading software to read the
information out loud.
Lesson idea implementation: For this project, I would randomly assign students to small groups, and
each group would be given a parent function. I would ask students to take a few minutes to
collaborate around one computer to create a “mind map” for this parent function. I may provide
them with a short list of idea starters as needed. Ideally, they would include graphing characteristics,
explanations of how to find certain pieces, pictures of example graphs, etc. This supports the guiding
question/standard stated above. Afterwards, I would have one student from each group rotate
throughout the rest of the groups to become “experts” on the other parent functions. At the end, I
would do a full group discussion about the “mind maps” each group created.

This would not be a formal assessment, so I would assess student learning from how engaged they
were in their groups and the sophistication of the final product. This project would theoretically be
used as an activating strategy/opening activity for a unit review. It would be used to remind students
about all the things that they have already learned about different types of parent functions.
Depending on the structure of the curriculum, I could also use it as an opening lesson headed
towards polynomial functions. This lesson differentiates learning because each group is allows to
choose how they want to organize their “mind map.” If I were to extend the student learning to a
higher learning level, I might have students create a second “mind map” where they write an
equation themselves (based on their parent function) and find the specific pieces of that equation.
Reflective Practice: This activity will impact student learning by challenging them to create their own
“mind map” with what they know about parent functions. It requires them to collaborate in groups,
therefore communicating with others. Students would need to draw on what they remember about
each of the parent functions before creating their product. To further extend the learning, students
could create a second or third “mind map” that had different requirements or more specific
constraints. Other technology tools could enhance this project such as the use of screen readers like
Immersive Reader or social/shareable sites like Google Classroom.

TFrazier, 2021