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Polar Investigations: Desmos

About a month ago I gave PD to a group of higher-up math teachers from across my state (I'm still wondering why I wasn't chosen to be part of this group 😐).  I was paired to work with another teacher from a different part of my state, Debbie McNally, and we had about a week to pull something together- via email.  Of course, we nailed the presentation- even with technical issues.  Who knew my district had blocked Teacher Desmos?

 Well, Debbie had created this investigation for her students and RJ and I took it and made it our own by turning it into a HyperDoc.  Feel free to make a blank copy of the student instructions by clicking here.  Once you get into it, you'll see how great of a tool this is to aid students into exploring and understanding how polar equations relate to conic sections and other types of graphs.  And some of the kids just liked making up their own graphs- but hey, they were learning and having fun!

 We really liked giving this task for several reasons.

  • All students were engaged
  • This was much more interactive than simply handing out a "packet"
  • Using Desmos helped make the connections between polar and conic sections
  • Students were able to explore at their own pace
  • We could create a Desmos card sort that went perfectly with this investigation 
  • We firmly believe that our students have a better understanding of graphing and converting polar equations
If you would like a copy of a student example, feel free to check it out!

~RJ and SSB

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