Instructional Software Lesson Idea

Lesson Idea Name: Graphing on a Coordinate Plane

Grade Level/Content Area: 6th Grade Math
Content Standard Addressed:
MGSE6.NS.6b : Understand signs of numbers in ordered pairs as indicating locations in quadrants of
the coordinate plane; recognize when two ordered pairs differ only by signs; the locations of these
points are related by reflections across one or both axes.

ISTE Technology Standard Addressed: What would you like students to know and be
Empowered Learner 1.1.c: Students use able to do by the end of this lesson:
technology to seek feedback that informs and Students should be able to work in the Desmos
improves their practice and to demonstrate their software to create locations of specific points
learning in a variety of ways. on a coordinate plane. I would like students to
understand the difference between each
Computational Thinker 1.5.b: Students collect quadrant and the effects of reflections of
data or identify relevant data sets, use digital tools objects (transformations).
to analyze them, and represent data in various
ways to facilitate problem-solving and decision-
making.
What is the student learning goal for this lesson idea? Students will identify coordinate pairs on a
coordinate plane, the components of a coordinate plane, and identify what happens when a point is
reflected across a specific axis.

Selected Instructional Software Tool: Desmos

Description of Software: Graphing software. Students can use many different graphing tools to
create and analyze data, equations, or expressions. In this lesson, students will walk through an
activity through Desmos.com.

URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable):

https://teacher.desmos.com/activitybuilder/custom/5fff2c08b97f313126e0f64c?collections=5fff36c
7a65b820b3c57bc64,5fff2b39b97f313126e0f531 (warm-up review activity)

Type of Instructional Software:

☐ Drill and Practice ☐ Tutorial ☒ Simulation ☐ Instructional Game ☐ e-books/e-references

Features of this software (check all that apply):

☒ Assessment Monitoring/Reporting
☒ Allows teacher to create customized lessons for students
☐ Multi-user or collaborative functions with others in the class
☐ Multi-user or collaborative with others outside the class
☒ Accessible to students beyond the school day
☒ Accessible via mobile devices
☐ Multiple languages

SBooker, 2022
 Instructional Software Lesson Idea
☒ Safety, security and/or privacy features

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☐ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☒ Applying ☒ Analyzing ☐ Evaluating ☒ Creating
How do you plan to implement this lesson and integrate the technology? Check all that apply:
☒ Teacher-led: There is no student voice and choice in the activities. Students are guided by the teacher's
direction and expectations. Learning activities are assigned to the student and mostly practice based.
☒ Student-Led: Students are given voice and choice in the activities. They may select the topic of learning
and/or determine the tool they will use to meet the learning goal. The teacher facilitates the learning as
the students direct their own learning processes.
☐ Problem-based and/or Publishable: Students are solving problems and completing projects to
demonstrate their learning. Additionally, the projects can be shared outside of the classroom. (Note: This
objective could be reached by displaying the project on the school’s morning newscast, posting the project
to the classroom blog, presenting it to another class, or publishing it via an outside source.)
How will you connect this topic to students’ prior knowledge as you teach?
Students will begin this lesson with a review activity within Desmos. From there, they will get into
groups to create an activity similar to the warm-up to show the master of plotting coordinate points
and transforming those points. The warm-up activity walks them through how to transform points,
but in a way where they describe what is happening rather than the teacher telling them exactly
what is happening. The main idea for this activity is for students to understand that coordinate
planes are used to locate items and transform them to different locations.

What students must know before this lesson is how to use vertical and horizontal number lines that
include both positive and negative integers.
Lesson idea implementation:
Students will begin this lesson with an activity through Desmos to review the concepts in the
learning goal. Through the activity they will begin to explain what the see throughout the activity
and take notes of the types of questions the activity was asking. From there the students will be
assigned groups, in which they will create their own maze activity that shows their knowledge of the
learning goal. The learning goal will be posted in the classroom and also reviewed in a rubric for the
activity.

The entire activity requires the use of their technology. They will be able to login/create an account
as a student to create an activity for their classmates to complete. As for the teacher, they are only
there for assistance. Some students may not know how to navigate Desmos, so before the lesson the
teacher will show students how to navigate and if there are any questions during the activity the
teacher is there to help. The teacher is also walking around and listening to discourse as the students
are collaborating. If the discourse is off topic, it is the teacher’s job to navigate them back to the
topic. At the end of their activity, they will share it with another group to complete and “judge”.
This will be an opportunity to receive feedback from their peers. To conclude the class, students will
share their link that they created to my class board for me to share with everyone in the class. This is
important so students can see many different means of representation.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Reflection: The technology I have selected supports all
students. This software supports student engagement as well as representation of material. I believe
this lesson offers the students the opportunity for collaboration and creativity. The students are able
to see an example of representation and use what they know to create their own “lesson” that
meets the learning goal.
SBooker, 2022
 Instructional Software Lesson Idea
Thinking about the layout of this lesson, I would like to implement a short video that overviews the
topic before they get into the learning activity. This way, students can refresh their minds about the
concept of a coordinate plane and use what they know about number lines to help them get starts.
The part I look forward to is the creation of their own activity. The best part of my job is seeing how
creative my students can be. This part of the activity also lets me know how much they understood
about the assignment. Every student will interpret the assignment differently, but each group of
students should be able to collaborate to reach the learning goal.

SBooker, 2022