LESSON PLAN

Subject

Mathematics

Class:

3I7

Unit

Coordinate Geometry

Date:

1 March 2016

Topic

Equation of Straight Line

Time:

1315 1415

Prior Knowledge
Students should already know:
1. how to find the gradient of a straight line given the coordinates of two points on it.
2. how to find the length of a line segment given the coordinates of its end points
3. how to find the equation of horizontal and vertical lines
Instructional Objectives
By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
1. Interpret and find the equation of a straight line graph in the form y = mx + c
Tim
e

Lesson Development

Rationale (optional)

Resources

Introduction OR Pre-activity
5
mins

Settling down of class

5
mins

Recap of previous lessons formula:

- Gradient of a straight line
- Gradient of horizontal and vertical lines
- Length of a line segment
- Equation of horizontal and vertical lines

Activating Prior Knowledge

Whiteboard and
markers; Graphing
software

Lesson Development OR Main Activities

10
mins

Derivation of the general formula of equation of straight lines

- Using the gradient formula to 2 points and simplifying the expression
(This will be done on the whiteboard with the Cartesian grid being displayed
on the board)

Whiteboard, markers,
Cartesian plane to be
shown on the board.

- An example of deriving the formula will also be given using 2 points that
does not involve the y-intercept to show that with 2 points we can define an
equation
What does it mean for an equation to be the equation of a straight line?
- Any point that is on the line must satisfy this equation
- Conversely, any point that do not satisfy this equation is NOT on the line
- Exploring the formula it connects the y and x coordinates and there are
2 unknowns. We just need the gradient and the y-intercept and then we will
get the entire equation out.
- What if we have only 2 points?
- What if we have the gradient and not the y-intercept?
Knowing the formula does not mean that we can just blindly apply it when
the question calls for the equation of lines. Linking back to special lines
(e.g. horizontal and vertical lines), we can just write down these equations
without the formula.
Worked Example 5
This example is used to highlight the various points above and just a
practice to show how we can use the formula.
5
mins

Try It 8 and 9
Students are given some time to try out these 2 questions. While teacher to
walk around to help students. Teacher to go through the questions when
most of the students are done with it.
Points to highlight when going through Try It 9:
- Sketching of the points on a Cartesian plane
- Identifying special lines if possible (i.e. (b) and (c)) and writing down the
equation immediately.

20
mins

Exploring the significance of m and c on straight line graphs

Teacher to use a graphing software (desmos.com) to explore what happens
if we change m and c in the equation.
1) Start with y = mx and vary m.

Desmos.com with preset

templates.

Students should know that m represents the gradient and the shape of
positive and negative gradients and what happens when m gets more
positive or negative.
2) Varying c, start with y = x + c
Using the slider function to show how the graph shifts up and down
accordingly.
Teacher to highlight that the gradient is constant and the lines are parallel
3) Varying m positively
Plot the graph y=mx-1 and vary m positively. Show that as m gets more
positive, the line becomes steeper.
Teacher to highlight what happens to the x intercept when the line gets
steeper.
4) Varying m negatively
Plot the graph y = mx+1 and vary m negatively. Show that as m gets more
negative, the line becomes steeper.
Teacher to highlight what happens to the x intercept when the line gets
steeper.
While plotting the graphs, students are required to draw the lines on their
worksheet accordingly and lead to the various conclusions:
- Parallel lines have the same gradient.
- Parallel lines have different y-intercept and do not intercept.
- The lines becomes steeper when the absolute value of m becomes
increases.
10
mins

Worked Example 6
Teacher to go through Worked Example 6 and to highlight the following key
points:
- When we consider gradient of a line, the equation need to be of the form
y=mx+c, with the coefficient of y being 1 and nothing else.
- If the coefficient of y is not 1, then divide the entire equation by the
coefficient of y in order to read the gradient off the equation.
Closure and Consolidation OR Post-Activity

Recap of the three formula learned in this chapter and to assign homework

Whiteboard and
markers.

mins

questions. Teacher to introduce next lessons objective: how to use the 3

formula to solve simple coordinate geometry problems.

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