Lesson 4
Using Technology to Work with Sequences
Lesson Narrative
This lesson is optional. The purpose of the lesson is to take time to explicitly teach students how to use spreadsheets and graphing technology in ways that are useful for working with sequences. In a spreadsheet, they learn to refer to a cell's address, enter a formula that uses the contents of a cell, and use the "fill down" functionality. With graphing technology, they learn to plot a list of points entered in a table, where a rule can be used to determine the \(y\)-coordinate based on the corresponding value of the \(x\)-coordinate. By taking part in this lesson and having access to these tools throughout the unit, students will be in a position to choose appropriate tools strategically (MP5).
Learning Goals
Teacher Facing
- Create a graph of a sequence using graphing technology.
- Use a spreadsheet to continue a sequence by applying a recursive rule.
Student Facing
Let’s use technology to create a sequence.
Required Materials
Required Preparation
Acquire devices that can run GeoGebra (recommended) or other spreadsheet technology and Desmos (recommended) or other graphing technology. It is ideal if each student has their own device. (A GeoGebra Spreadsheet and Desmos Graphing Calculator are available under math tools.)
Learning Targets
Student Facing
- I can use a spreadsheet to create many terms of a sequence.
- I can use technology to graph a sequence.
CCSS Standards
Print Formatted Materials
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| Student Task Statements | docx | |
| Cumulative Practice Problem Set | docx | |
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| Teacher Presentation Materials | docx |