LESSON PLAN

Subject

Mathematics

Class:

3I7

Unit

Graphs of Functions and Graphical Solution

Date:

11 March 2016

Topic

Graph Sketching

Time:

0945 1045

Prior Knowledge
Students should already know:
1. how to draw the graphs of quadratic functions
Instructional Objectives
By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
1. sketch the graphs of general cubic functions of the form y=a x 3 +b x 2+cs+ d , where a , b , c
2. understand how the various coefficients in a general cubic functions affect the shape of the graph.
Tim
e

Lesson Development

and

are constants

Rationale (optional)

Resources

Introduction OR Pre-activity
5
mins

Settling down of class and reminding students of the laboratory rules:

1. Students are only allowed to access approved websites
2. When the teacher is talking, no students are allowed to use the
computers
3. No food and drinks are allowed in the laboratory

5
mins

Introduction to the topic of Graph Sketching:

Teacher to introduce todays topic by showing the following graph of a
Pokemon (Charmander) that is drawn using many graphs.
URL of graph: https://www.desmos.com/calculator/9u42w9tdim
Teacher to mention that one of the application of graphs is in computer
graphics and even a simple image like this could take up to 150 graphs to
plot.
While todays lesson will NOT equip students with the skills to draw such a
complicated graph, with more practice and exposure to other types of

Web browser with

access to desmos.com

graphs in the future, students will be able to draw such a graph next time.
Lesson Development OR Main Activities
15
mins

Importance of graphs
Teacher to give a short explanation on the importance and uses of graphs
as a motivation to why are we studying graphs of functions:
Uses of graph:
- Computer graphics
- Scientific experiments plotting of points to read information and trends
- Statistics
Teacher to highlight the importance of linking algebra and graphs:
- Students are required to know how a function could be thought of in terms
of graphs and vice versa
- Translation from one form to another will help one to solve questions
easily or provide an alternative perspective for solving questions.
Teacher to mention that this entire chapter can be broken down into 3 main
parts:
- Graph sketching
- Graph plotting
- Application of graphs to real world context
This 3 lessons will be on the first part of graph sketching and students are
required to find out about the characteristics of the graphs using desmos.
Activation of Prior Knowledge
Teacher to go through the basics of graph sketching using quadratic graphs
as an example.
Examples to go through:
2
1.
y=x 5 x +6
2
2.
y=x +3 x2
Example 1 is used to highlight the smiley face shape of quadratic functions
while Example 2 is used to highlight the sad face shape of quadratic

White board, markers

and notes

functions.
Teacher to highlight the important points to take note of when sketching:
1. Labelling of axis and graph
2. Shape of the graph
3. y and x-intercepts
4. Maximum/minimum points
5. Asymptotes (if any)
For each of the appropriate points, teacher to reiterate how to find these
points from the equation or from other means.
Teacher to mention these 3 lessons will be on expanding the students
repertoire of graphs knowledge. For all the graphs that are sketch, they are
required to include all these 6 points (or any relevant points).
Todays lesson will be on graphs of the form y=a x 3 +b x 2+ cx +d and
x
y=k a . A worksheet will be given out that students are required to fill
in and answer along the way.
The worksheet will allow students to investigate the different parameters of
the graph, which includes the shape of the graph, the y- and x-intercepts,
asymptotes.
Use of Desmos
Teacher to introduce the website that the students will be using:
https://www.desmos.com/calculator
Students are NOT required to sign in or to create an account as the website
could be used freely without the need to log-in.
Teacher to introduce the basic functions of how to use the dynamic
geometry software:
1. How to plot graphs (including how to plot more than one graph at a
time)
2. How to add sliders
3. How to plot points on the graph
4. How to zoom in/ out and shifting the graph

An Appendix will be attached at the last page of the worksheet that has a
screenshot and some explanations on how to find the various functions
required for the completion of the worksheet.
20
mins

Exploration of the properties of cubic graphs

Instructions:
1. Students are encouraged to work in pairs and discuss
2. Detailed instructions are given in the worksheet itself and students
are required to fill in the blanks and do up to page 5.
3. All graphs are to be sketched properly and based on the guidelines
given at the start of the notes.

Each student to have

access to a workable
laptop with internet
access. If it is not
possible, then two
students will share a
laptop with said internet
access.

Things that students are required to investigate:

a) For general cubic functions of the form y=a x 3 +b x 2+ cx +d
- What is the general shape of the graph
- How does the value of a , b , c and d affects the shape of the graph
- The x - and y -intercepts of cubic graphs
- The types of roots that a cubic graph could have
Closure and Consolidation OR Post-Activity
10
min

Teacher to conduct a quiz through Kahoot to summarise the lesson.

Kahoot link: https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/67a311f2-7265-4634-bcb6045463378d85
The questions will be based on the summary page of cubic graphs (page
5). The questions to be asked includes:
1) Which of the following equation does this graph shows?
(Depicting a cubic graph with a > 0.)
2) What is a possible equation of this graph?
(Depicting a cubic graph with a < 0.)
3) Given a general cubic graph, what is the coordinates of the yintercept?
(Option such as d, (0,d) and (d,0) is given to help students realize
the difference between these options and what does coordinates

Whiteboard and
markers.

means.)
4) How many different real roots can a general cubic graph possible
have?
(Correct answer is a)1,2 or 3)
5) How would increasing the absolute value of a affects the shape of
the graph?
(Correct answer is a) Graph becomes steeper)
Teacher to conclude by mentioning that this is a first part of the lesson and
in the next lesson, we will continue our investigation of graphs of the form

y=

a
x

and

y=

a
.
x2

Reflections (Choose 1 aspect of the lesson to reflect on positive or negative one. It can be written in point form not more than 1 page)
1. What happened? (What did my students do? What did I do?)
2. Why? (Why did I think things happened this way? Why did I choose to act the way I did?)
3. So what? (What have I learnt from this?)
4. Now what? (What do I want to remember to think about in a similar situation? How do I want to act in future?)

NOTE: General guidelines for a double-period lesson about 5 pages, excluding references and
worksheets/resources (Times New Roman, font size 12)
2015, NIE, Office of Teacher Education (OTE), Practicum