Blaine's Material

Exploring Quadratic Functions

As with the regular Manitoba grade 9 curriculum, there are certain topical inconsistencies present in the Advanced program. For instance, factoring trinomials and using factored form to determine roots of an equation are required, however graphing quadratic functions is not. Also, students are to learn the method of completing the square and also to use the quadratic formula, however students are again not required to draw quadratic functions. This apparent hole presented an opportunity to allow students to tie various concepts together, as well as provide an opportunity for students to make their own mathematical discoveries.

I decided to have students work in small groups to see what they could collectively discover about the graphs of quadratic functions.