West Contra Costa Unified School District
Search and Rescue Activity
Get your classes moving and practicing sequences at the same time! Learners move about the room solving problems and finding their solutions. Problems include both recursive and explicit formulas and both geometric and arithmetic sequences.
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Comparing Data Displays
There is so much more to data than just numbers, and this resource has learners use three methods of comparing data in a multi-faceted lesson. The 21-page packet includes a warm-up, examples, an activity, and assessment for a complete...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Standard Form of Conics
Looking for a complete go-to guide for the standard form of conics? This five-page packet does a nice job of connecting conics to prior knowledge of functions and transformations. Adapt the resource as Algebra II lesson plan notes, or...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Discovering Zero and Negative Exponents
Need a hand with an Algebra II integer exponent lesson? This versatile worksheet can be utilized as a lesson to supplement instruction. It derives the idea of a negative exponent before practicing a variety of questions.
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Fractional Exponents
Wow! Here is a handout packed full of tips and worked-out solutions to supplement instruction on fractional exponents. The lesson introduces and thoroughly explains the Algebra II concept, and closes with a variety of example problems,...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
What Is a Radian?
Here's an algebra II activity that strives to make the concept of a radian less abstract and more conceptual. It takes a hands-on approach to exploring the idea of a radian and allows individuals to develop a definition of a radian...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Arithmetic Series
Fall for a series. Learners determine how to find out how far a skydiver falls in the first 20 seconds. The Algebra II lesson introduces the idea of adding up the terms of an arithmetic sequence. Pupils learn how to use Sigma notation to...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Average Rate of Change
The concept of slope gets an approachable, yet theoretical, treatment in a comprehensive algebra lesson. The use of functional notation and problem-solving techniques keep the material rigorous, but detailed teaching notes and lots of...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Point-Slope Application Problems
Create a linear equation for a problem when the intercept information is not given. The two-day lesson introduces the class to the point-slope form, which can be used for problems when the initial conditions are not provided. Pupils...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Solving Exponential Equations
The power to solve exponential equations lies in the resource. Scholars first learn how to solve exponential equations. An activity matching cards with equations, intermediate steps, and solutions strengthens this skill.
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Investigating Similar Triangles
Let your use of the resource be in proportion to its usefulness. Pupils investigate similar triangles by measuring side lengths and considering given angle measures. The results of the investigation help develop generalizations about...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Law of Sines
Laws are meant to be broken, right? Learners derive the Law of Sines by dropping a perpendicular from one vertex to its opposite side. Using the Law of Sines, mathematicians solve for various parts of triangles.
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Finding the Equation of a Circle
Tired of going around and around for a resource on circles? Scholars determine the general equation of a circle on a coordinate plane, then participate in an activity matching equations to the radii and centers of the circles they...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Congruence Through Transformations
Transform your lesson on transformations. Learners use given congruent triangles and tracing paper to determine the single transformation that carries one to the other. The concept is extended to combinations of transformations to...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Work Problems – Bar Models
Why do we have to do so much work? Scholars learn how to set up bar models to represent a situation involving work. They use these bar models to help set up equations with rational coefficients to solve the problem situation.
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Solving Rational Equations
Scholars first learn to solve two-step equations with fractional coefficients and constants by traditional methods and by clearing the denominator. They continue by learning another approach to solve two-step equations that have decimal...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Solving Equations Using Balance Scale, Decomposition, and Graphing
There's more than one way to solve an equation — three, actually. Scholars learn how to solve simple linear equations in one variable using three different methods, which include using balance scales, using decomposition (e.g., turning...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Introduction to Trigonometric Functions
Scholars first learn the definitions of the sine ratio, the cosine ratio, and the tangent ratio. After mastering these definitions, they use the new information to solve triangles.
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Pythagorean Theorem and Its Converse
Challenge scholars to prove the Pythagorean Theorem geometrically by using a cut-and-paste activity. They then must solve for the missing sides of right triangles.
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Parallel Lines Cut by a Transversal
Parallel lines seem so right for each other. It's too bad they'll never, ever meet. Learners use tracing paper to discover relationships among angles formed by two parallel lines cut by a transversal. They apply this information to find...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Expository Writing in Math
Pupils engage in an activity where one partner reads directions while the other follows those directions to complete a math task (such as bisecting an angle). As a reflection, they examine products to see what information the best...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Congruent and Similar Polygons
What's similar about congruent and similar polygons? Young mathematicians first measure the side lengths and angles of given figures. They use these measurements to determine relationships between side lengths and angles of congruent and...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Three Forms of an Equation of a Line
An equation is an equation is an equation. Scholars see there are many ways to solve them when they first sort a set of linear equations as written in standard form, point-slope form, or slope-intercept. They then write equations in all...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Solving Systems of Inequalities
Don't throw away those transparency sheets just yet! Young scholars first review inequalities on a number line, then learn about graphing inequalities in the coordinate plane. Finally, they use overhead transparencies to create systems...