Do you want to make your unit about distance formula awesome? I know, I know- silly question. Well, I’ve got you covered. The goal of this post is to share a bunch of low prep and awesome ideas for teaching and practicing with the distance formula. While this topic baffles some, armed with these ideas you’ll engage your students for sure.
We’ve got a variety of activity types for practicing the distance formula, as well including anticipatory sets, modeling and teaching, and extension ideas. (For more ideas on how to plan your instruction, check out the post “Teaching the Distance Formula Using I Can Statements”.) Now, let’s get started with the list of activities:
- Distance Formula Maze (added 10/2018)
- Scavenger Hunt
- Kahoot
- Illutrative Mathematics
- Distance Formula Discovery Lab
- Doodle Notes
- Shmoop Video
- I Do, We do, You Do
- Distance Formula Face
- Water Park Project
Ways to practice the distance formula
After students have a solid foundation, they’re ready to practice using the distance formula. Below you’ll find ways of practicing that can be done with partners, individually, or with the whole class. I love to have a variety of activities to keep students engaged.
1. Distance Formula Mazes
One of my favorite ways to practice is with math mazes. These three distance formula mazes are no exception. Generally, I use mazes as bell work to start off each class either to practice our current topic or for cyclical review of topics later in the school year. They also make great independent practice or homework options.
Each of these mazes practices a slightly different part of this skill. Two of the mazes give students pairs of coordinate points (one with negatives and one without) and askes them to find the distance between them. The third maze shows points on a graph and asks students to find the distance between those points.
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2. Scavenger hunt
I’ve seen many different ways that people organize scavenger hunts. What I like to do with my scavenger hunts is place the problems around the room and have students work in partners to solve problems. Usually, I have students check their answers with me before going to the next one. Once they can show proficiency, then they don’t have to get checked after each problem anymore.
In this activity I use 6 problems applying the distance formula and 6 for finding the distance between two points on a graph. Students love this activity because they get to move around the room. Also, they work with a partner which keeps them working and engaged. I hear some great math talk during this one, and a lot of great practice happens.
3. Kahoot
If you’ve never played Kahoot with your classes, then you’re in for a treat. My kids love Kahoot. Even the high school students I worked with loved it.
To play you need an internet connected device for each student and your computer connected to a project. Once you start the game, students choose a name and the questions begin. There are 4 answers to each question and students get points based on accuracy and speed. Kahoot has a variety of teacher created games, or you can create your own.
In my class we have a running commentary about who is a better basketball player, Steph Curry or Kyrie Irving. The other day when we played Kahoot, one of the students signed in as Kyrie and I knew who it was. I am on team Curry so I gave him a hard time as we played. He was at the top of the game board most of the game. I encouraged everyone to try and beat him. He was determined to win.
It all came down to the last question, and he got it wrong. He was beating himself up for making the mental mistake right at the end of the game, but apparently he was far enough ahead to still win. This rivalry within our math review game added a lot of fun to class and everyone felt like they were a part of it.
If you want a fun, free, and engaging way to practice distance formula with the whole class, try this Distance Formula Kahoot game.
4. Illustrative Mathematics
Illustrative Mathematics is a great place to find challenge questions and performance tasks. This Finding the Distance Between Two Points task in particular is amazing because it gets kids thinking about the Pythagorean Theorem, the distance formula, and graphing. It has them find the distance of three sides of triangle on a graph that isn’t a right triangle. They have to make a square around the triangle and use the Pythagorean Theorem 3 times. Also, this task reinforces the derivation of the distance formula. It’s a great challenge and really gets students thinking.
Discovering the Distance Formula
We always do a discovery activity before any notes. This way students start off building their background and they can make meaning of the concept before they receive information from the teacher.
5. Distance Formula Discovery Lab
I don’t usually include discovery lab activities as a practice activity because I have an entire blog post dedicated to it. This time, though, I’m making an exception because this discovery lab was so beneficial to my students that it was transformational. What I mean is that my students, most of whom struggle extensively in math, really got the distance formula with this activity.
This activity guides students toward deriving the distance formula. They have to struggle, but in the end they know where the formula comes from. It takes their understanding to the next level.
After this activity and a little practice I had a student say, “We should have learned this in 3rd grade. It’s so easy.” That reaction excited me. What a stark contrast to other years. This discovery activity can really get all learners to own the distance formula.
Anticipatory Set or Hooks
I love having a hook at the beginning of the lesson. Lessons always run smoother when students get hooked into it first. Sometimes we feel like there isn’t enough time, but if it’s done right, then the rest of lesson is so much more valuable. Anticipatory sets also serve as a way to review on a daily basis and build background.
6. Doodle Notes
I’ve been using doodle notes for an anticipatory set on the distance formula. Doodle notes are a great review of the key terms and ideas of a concept. The twist is that students can color code it themselves to help make another mental connection for the concept. For the specific one I used I cut off the midpoint formula. Midpoint does not show up in our standards and I didn’t want to confuse kids with even mentioning things like this.
To use these doodle notes for the anticipatory set, I placed the answer key on the doc cam and had the students fill-in as much as they could. When they got stuck they had the answer key to refer to. They also had the chance to decide what and how they wanted to color it. It was a little long for a hook, but I really liked how engaged the kids were working on it.
7. Shmoop Video to Illustrate the Distance Formula
This series of videos from Shmoop uses quirkiness and silliness to engage students in math. This particular video lasts for 3:28. It riffs off of Lord of the Rings and tells a story of trying to return the One Donut of Power to its rightful place. There’s a detailed example of how the distance formula works. Students like it because it differs from the videos that just have a person talking about a list of steps. 
While they’re watching I make sure that students have something specific that they’re looking for. In this video we looked for the distance formula. I gave them a small list of questions to answer while they watched. The combination of a compelling video and a purpose to watch (clear idea of what they are looking for) makes this a great way to start a lesson.
Modeling and Teaching
After the discovery lab there we spend time taking notes and doing problems together. This can take on many forms. I don’t always use the same methods for modeling. Here is what I did to model and teach this topic.
8. I Do, We Do, You Do Activity
I’m sure you know about the concept of I Do, We Do, You Do as a way of releasing control to students. It’s a great way to think about supporting students while moving them towards independence. First, the teacher models. Next, the teacher and the students do problems together. Last, students work independently.
I got into an I Do, We Do, You Do phase when I was creating some activities a while back and created this set. I use SmartPals for the I Do and We Do section because it uses a lot less paper. The We Do section is printed for each student. This activity helped to reinforce the other activities and prepared students for further practice.
Also included in this resource is I Do, We Do, You Do for finding the distance between two points on a graph. Students learn to use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the distance. In 8th grade math, this is another part of the standard that students need to learn as well.
9. Distance Formula Face from Mrs. E Teaches Math
When I spent a month filling in for a high school Geometry class I felt like I got thrown into the fire. I felt very unprepared and I relied heavily on Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers. One of my favorite things that I found was this tip from Mrs. E Teaches Math to make a face for the distance formula. Students can easily see the face in the formula and it helped many of them to remember the formula.
I used this face as a backup of the distance formula for my 8th graders. The majority remembered the formula without it, but it served as a little extra padding for everyone.
Project based learning
Our pacing guide doesn’t have a lot of room for project based learning. We usually find time for it near the end of the year.
10. Build your own water park project
I want to try this water park building project with my students because it incorporates multiple concepts. It incorporates distance formula, slope, and proportional relationships. I haven’t used this one, but I plan to during the last month of school. Kids get so engaged when they do something like this. The idea comes from a freebie on TPT called Linear Equations: Water Park Project. You can see pictures of it on Mrs. W’s Math Connection.
Basically, students are given parameters to build a water park. They make their design on a larger piece of paper. Students work in groups. It’s broken down into daily tasks which I love so kids don’t get off task. In the end they have a super product that shows their design and they’ve practiced a lot of math in an applied way.
Try one thing for distance formula
As part of my job I coach other teachers. I’ve learned that the best way to make big change is to make one small one at a time. I give you the same challenge. If you are overwhelmed thinking about trying so many new things, then just Try One Thing.
All of our distance formula resources for this topic are also available in a bundle for a discounted price. Check it out here.
Thanks for reading! Until next time.
