Lesson: Going Up

Distribute or digitally share the “KWLS Table” literacy skill sheet. Tell them they are going to watch a video about slopes of lines. Ask your class to fill out the K (Know) and W (Want to Know) sections of their skill builders. Then play the instructional video “Slope.” Have students complete the remainder of their skills sheets. Allow volunteers to share what they learned and what they still want to know.

Have volunteers read the article aloud. During the first read-through, skip the “Your Turn” questions. After reading each section, ask students to find at least three facts about the funicular it featured. Post the following comprehension questions to prompt student responses during the reading:
• How old is the funicular?
• Where is the funicular located?
• What is unique about each funicular?
• Who uses the funicular?
• Which funicular is your favorite and why?

Read the introduction and the example of the “Working With Slope” box on page 16 aloud to your students. Have students think-pair-share to describe how they know which values represent which variables in the example. Reinforce the terms rise (vertical change) and run (horizontal change). Have students work individually to reread the article and answer the “Your Turn” questions independently. Then review the answers as a class by selecting volunteers to present their work. For an additional challenge, have students put the funiculars in order of highest to lowest vertical travel.

Teach students how to graph a line given an equation with the formula y = mx + b. Tell them that they can choose any value for x to find the corresponding y-value. Once they find two or more points, students can graph the line. Distribute or digitally share the “Graphing a Line” skills sheet. Have students work independently or in pairs to complete the sheet. Then hold an open-ended discussion with your class asking them what they notice about how the slopes in each question relate to the lines they have graphed.

If students have previous experience with graphing, split your class into pairs. If not, complete this activity in a whole-class setting with direct instruction. Provide students with graph paper or distribute the “Coordinate Planes” template. Have them verify their equation calculations by graphing the line and determining whether their graph has all the same attributes as the verbal description in the “Your Turn” questions. Then select volunteers to share their graphs with the class.

Share this infographic with students to view:
fixr.com/infographics/top-10-US-steepest-streets.html. Tell students that percent gradient is the slope in percent form. For example, 45% gradient means the street has a slope of 0.45, or 45/100. Have students use the information in the infographic as well as the formula they learned in the lesson to calculate how much higher the street is after traveling 125 feet horizontally than at the starting point.