An effective instructional strategy is to make the new math topic meaningful. A fellow Facebook group member asked about teaching the topic constant of proportionality. My suggestion is to use hourly wages as an introduction.
I created a handout that starts with students finding a job with an hourly pay stated and then completing a time sheet.
This is followed by unpacking the relationship between hours and pay.
This establishes a context and a situation that many if not most students may find interesting and to connect to the math topic. This handout is intended as an introduction and not the formal unpacking of the term.
Slope is one of the the most important topics in algebra and is often understood by students at a superficial level. I suggest introducing slope first by drawing upon prior knowledge and making the concept relevant (see photo above). Â This includes presenting the topic using multiple representations: the original real life situation, rates (see photo above) and tables, visuals, Â and hands on cutouts (see photos below).
A key aspect of slope is that it represents a relationship between 2 variables. Color coding (red for hours, green for pay) can be used to highlight the 2 variables and how they interact – Â see photo above and below.
