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.