1

November 30th, 2017 Lesson Sierra Dillard CVLCC Middle School

Standard Form to Slope Intercept Form

Purpose:
Students will interchange linear equations between standard form and slope form to be
able to identify the slope.

Standard(s):
8.EE.B.6: Derive the equation y = mx for a line through the origin and the equation y =
mx + b for a line intercepting the vertical axis at b.

Lesson Format
*NOTE: Academic vocabulary will be reviewed after the collaborative task and before
the independent task.

Collaborative Task:
The purpose of the collaborative task is for me to see what the students know and do
not know so that I can build off of that.
Briefly go over the collaborative expectations with the class so that there is no confusion
on what is expected of them during this work time.
1. No one goes ahead or gets behind
2. Everyone contributes (share ideas, ask questions)
3. All ideas are valid and respected

In this lesson, students will be working on changing an equation given in standard form
into slope intercept form (y = mx+b). This week, specifically yesterday, the students
were formally introduced to what slope is and how to find it. They have been working
with equations in standard form and today they will be introduced to slope intercept
form. First, the students will be asked to write down what standard form of an equation
is (the general form). This is something that has been covered in several lessons and
students have been working with equations in only standard form so far for this unit.
Following this, the students are given 4 steps to complete for two different equations
and must complete all 4 steps for both equations. To start, students will isolate the y
variable in the given equation. This is another skill that students have been working with
over the past couple of weeks and reviewed again on Monday. Then they will be asked
to find three solutions to the equation, which was also reviewed on Monday. In this part
of the task, I am looking for students to pick a value for one variable and then solve for
the other (hopefully pick a x value and then solve for y since we are setting the equation
equal to y). Even though it is not provided, students might organize their solutions in a
chart/table, which is how they have been working with finding solutions so far. Then
they are to graph the ordered pairs of the solutions that they find and draw a line
connecting them. This will lead them to the last step of finding the slope. They have
 2

their materials from the week and especially from the previous day when slope was
covered to help them. They should be able to come up with a slope for the line of the
equation by finding the rise over run or using the equation for how to find the slope
m = (y2 y1)/ (x2 x1)

What am I looking for during the collaborative task is:

Students to meet the collaborative task expectations
When students are stuck, I am looking for them to either ask their
group questions or to use their resources (notebook, vocabulary or skills
sheets, the posters on the wall, etc.)
Students should be capable of filling out the blank of what the general
equation of standard form is (this has been covered several times by
now)
Students should pick a value for one variable and solve for the other
variable rather than use mental math to find both values.
Students should use some sort of organizational method to record the 3
solutions that they find
Students should recognize that the solutions that they find are ordered
pairs and use them to graph the equation

Questions I might ask students during the collaborative task:

What does it mean to isolate a variable?
How do we find a solution to the equation?
What is a slope?
How do you go about finding the slope for this equation?

Continuation of Collaborative Task: Following the collaborative task, students will

annotate their work.
Compare the graph and the equation:
1. Circle the slope in the equation
2. What does the constant represent in the equation and the graph?
3. Where is the constant represented in the graph?

This is a great opportunity for students to independently analyze what they did during
the collaborative task with their group. I think that this is an essential part of the lesson
for students to begin understanding slope and the connection to a graph. Through this
short activity, students can begin making connections on where the slope is represented
in the equation as well as what the significance of the y-intercept value is.

Academic Vocabulary & Skills: We will discuss the academic vocabulary that is used
today. The purpose of formally discussing the vocabulary after the collaborative task is
to build contextualization for the students. The first two terms are a review (isolating a
variable & slope) and the last two terms are technically new however they have been
 3

subconsciously working with them for quite some time (these are x and y intercepts).
The skill that will be addressed during this time is how to solve for the value of a
variable, which the students have been working with for the past two weeks so this is a
review.

Misconceptions: I will use an app on Mrs. Gamboas phone that has the roster for the
class to randomly call on students to share their findings for the different sections of the
task. For example, one student would be called on to share what standard form of a
linear equation is, another will be called on to share what they came up with when they
isolated the y, etc. I feel that randomly selecting students to share their findings will be
a great way keep students engaged because they dont know if they will be called on or
not. When it comes time to share the graphs for the 2 equations, I am considering
having a carefully selected student come to the document camera to show their graph. I
will carefully select a student to share their graphs by closely monitoring the students
during the collaborative task time. By monitoring, I can find a student that I feel will be
able to share the graph and also be able to explain how they graphed the equations.

During this time I will also state what slope intercept form is. I will explain that this is
the form that we are going to be working with because it will help us graph easier. I will
show them what each part of the general equation for slope intercept form represents.
And then we will do one example of taking an equation that is in standard form and
converting it into slope intercept form. (I will make up this problem)

Possible misconceptions the students might have:

Students might not use their skill of solving for a variable that we have been
working on when it comes to finding 3 solutions to the equations. What I mean
by this is that they sometimes have a tendency of making things hard on
themselves and they try to do mental math and guess 2 values that would work
rather than picking one value and solving for the other.
Students might not recognize that the solutions that they find in part 2 create an
ordered pair that they are to graph
Students might confuse the order of how to write out slope. (Rise over run)

Independent Task: Students will be given some time in class to begin working on the
Independent Task. The amount of time given depends on how much time if left after
completing the collaborative task and addressing misconceptions. The Independent Task
is meant to be an opportunity for students to apply what they learned through the
Collaborative Task and Misconceptions. The time spent on the Independent Task is time
that is meant to be spent working alone so that the student can see what they know and
do not know; meaning they are going to figure out what they need more instruction on.
This is a great time to ask the teacher questions when they come across problems that
they are confused on.
 4

Homework: Homework is given out right before students exit the class and will be
turned in on Monday. If the students do not get the chance to finish the independent
task, they are to finish it as part of homework in addition to the homework worksheet.
However, these two tasks are designed in a way so that if students do not get the
chance to start the independent task in class, they will only have 4 homework problems
total between the two tasks so it is still a reasonable amount of homework.

Closing Activity: Each student will be given an index card. On the index card they will
put their name on it and on the same side, they will create their own linear equation
written in slope intercept form. Once everyone has an equation, they will pass the index
card to the person on their right. With the new card, the student will put their name on
the blank side and then write down the slope and the y-intercept of the equation on the
front. They will then hand in the index card to the teacher on the way out the door.

I felt that this would be a great closing activity for the students to take part in because it
will show me how well students understand what the parts are of the general form of
the slope intercept form equation. I feel like they will enjoy the creation part of the
activity because they can make the equation whatever they want as long as it is in slope
intercept form. They will not be solving the problems so they can make the numbers as
large or small as they want. They will not be allowed to use their notebook/notes to
complete this activity because I want to see what know and dont know.

Literacy Strategies used:

Group work to work together in getting to an answer and working through a
problem
Using Schema in the collaborative task, the students will be working with
concepts and skills that we have been covering recently
Annotating (the continuation of the collaborative task)
Teaching and reviewing math vocabulary as well as skills they used in todays
lesson
Students sharing their findings and work with the class (during misconceptions)
Class discussion about the collaborative task
Checking for understanding (closing activity with the index cards)
 5

Collaborative Task
Standard form to Slope intercept form

Standard form of a linear equations is ______________________________.

1. Change the following equations to isolate the Y (equation should be in Y= )

2. Find at least three solutions to the equations.
3. Graph the solutions as points on the coordinate plane and connect to make
a line.
4. Find the slope of the lines.
+ = + =
 6

Independent Task
Slope Intercept Form

a. Change the following equation to slope intercept form 4 + 8 = 24

b. Complete the table to find solutions to the linear equation. Need to show work!

Transformed Linear Equation:

c. Graph the points on the coordinate

plane.

d. Find the slope between two points.

e. What is the y-intercept?

 7

Name: ______________________________________________ Period: _____ Date: _________

Slope Intercept Form - Homework

Y= mx+b

The graph of the equation = 7 3 has what slope?

3
The graph of the equation = 3 has what slope?
4

You have $20 in savings at the bank. Each week, you add $2 to your savings. Let represent the
total amount of money you have saved at the end of weeks. Write an equation to represent this
situation, and identify the slope of the equation. What does that number represent?

Graph and write the equation in slope intercept form.