Michael Link’s Lesson Plan Page
The Definition of the Derivative
Name: Michael Link Date:
Subject: Calculus I # of
Students: 15 # of IEP Students: 0
Major content: The
Derivative Unit Title: The Definition
of the Derivative
ACTIONS— This lesson plan should provide the students with the knowledge of the derivative.
Goals and Objectives-
Students after this lesson should be able to find derivatives of polynomial functions so that applications may be connected later.
Connections-
This lesson should subscribe to the
following standards:
Standard III point I is met because of the
standards expressed in this lesson plan.
Standard IX point VII is met because the
Web sites will support the instruction in the classroom.
Context-
The context for this lesson is to provide the students with the knowledge of the derivative so that applications may be added at a later date.
Resources-
There will be a graphing calculator used if
the students need it to calculate any derivatives. There will also be three Web
sites used:
http://www.sosmath.com/calculus/diff/der00/der00.html,
http://www.math.hmc.edu/calculus/tutorials/limit_definition/,
and
http://www.univie.ac.at/future.media/moe/galerie/diff1/diff1.html.
Procedures-
Students will apply their prior knowledge
of algebra to find derivatives and evaluate the definition of the derivative.
Day I:
The students will review what the web site
for day I has dictated to them on how to use the definition of the derivative
and the discussion of the
derivative of f(x)=x will be discussed.
Day II:
The students will be asked to form a
general rule for finding the derivative of f(x)=cx and f(x)=xn, where
c and n are real numbers. This will be
supplemented by the web site for Day II.
Day III:
The students will find maximums and
minimums using f’(x)=0. There will then be an
assessment to determine the students’ understanding of these
basic concepts.
Student Assessment-
I intend to give a quiz for the students as
a means to determine whether they have developed their understanding of the material.
Here are three sample questions:
1) Use the
definition of the derivative to find d/dx (x4).
2) Find the
tangent line of the graph of f(x)=x2 at x=3.
3) Find the x
values that maximize and minimize f(x)=x3.