9 Awesome Activities for Writing Equations in Slope Intercept Form

After teaching students the concepts of slope and y-intercept year after year, there’s one thing I know for sure. They can’t get enough practice. We learn about slope for a week, and then we work with y-intercept for a week. Next, we spend two weeks comparing functions and then go into a unit about writing linear equations in slope intercept form. Along with all that, students also have to be able to look at a function and explain the situation it represents.

Today, when I was working with my class, I mentioned that it’s crazy that after a month of working with slope, for some students they seem to just now get what it is we’re trying to do. One student gently reminded me that it takes some people longer to learn it. Good point! It’s important to recognize that there’s just so much going on with linear functions in 8th grade, and students have to spend a lot of time processing all of the little details. It can bring a lot of overwhelming moments for both students and teachers.

The conclusion that I have come to is that my students just need lots and lots of practice with each step of the process. They need to interact with slope and y-intercept in a variety of ways, and keep talking about what is happening in these tables, graphs, equations, and stories. Today I want to share with you nine ways to get students practicing writing equations in slope intercept form.

Slope and y-intercept vocabulary words

Before I dive into these activities, I want to share with you an a-ha I’ve had teaching this concept this year. While I’ve always known that there’s a lot of math vocabulary students need to understand for this topic, this year I’ve done things a little differently. I had a moment where, even though we’d discussed and talked about slope and y-intercept terms, I realized that students didn’t really own these terms. So, I added explicit vocabulary practice to the mix to help students distinguish between slope and y-intercept. If they don’t know that initial value is y-intercept and rate of change is slope, then they’re stuck. They can’t write the equation a story is describing. A lack of understanding of the vocabulary builds a wall between students and understanding this concept.

Some of the activities that I share in this list help students specifically practice the vocabulary related to slope (rate) and y-intercept (point). I find that once they can distinguish between slope and y-intercept vocabulary, they instantly become more confident with all the other things they need to do with them.

The list of activities

The activities I share here are engaging, simple-to-use ways to specifically help kids look at tables, graphs, written descriptions, and coordinate points and turn them into equations. Even though it may feel like a lot for students to keep track of, you’ve just gotta keep going with it and tell the kids that they can get it.

Let’s dig in

Each activity has different areas of focus and you’ll find that some work better in one situation than another. I’ve created and searched for these additional activities because my kids just need a lot more time with the basics in this topic. Let’s look at each of them and get to know them a little better.

Linear Equations Maze

This set of 3 linear equations mazes includes 1 for writing equations from tables, 1 from written descriptions, and 1 maze that is a combination of written descriptions and tables. Mazes are a great way to practice because students don’t think it’s work, and so they get a lot of practice. These mazes can take a while because students have to find the slope, the y-intercept, and then put it together into an equation.

I start each class with a maze as bellwork. Students check their maze with me when they’re finished. If they have a mistake, I send them back right away to fix it. In addition to bellwork, this maze is also a great review activity. Either way, it’s important to make sure students have already had a lot of practice before they’re asked to do this independently. During this unit, I also use other mazes that help build some of the prerequisite skills for this maze, including y-intercept and slope. Students love working with these mazes.

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Linear relationships maze

I have two different sets of mazes for this topic because kids need so much practice. This linear relationships maze set is a little more advanced and it brings in graphs as well. The three representations of tables, written descriptions, and graphs are all represented in all three mazes in this set.

Also. something to keep in mind with these mazes is that you can use them again and again. They work great as review later on in the year. Students don’t remember the answers and they can get the benefit of working through these problems again.

Write a linear equation knockout game

Sometimes, you just want a game to use as you work with the whole class. This linear equation knockout game fills this need. I used this particular Knockout Game to introduce writing equations to my math lab students. They thought they were just playing a game, but really I was modeling the process of writing linear equations for them. They used whiteboard sleeves to do their work and I worked through problems with them until they didn’t need me anymore.

Knockout games are great because they’re so simple to play. You just open the presentation, project it on the screen, and make sure students have scratch paper or white boards. Then, students choose a picture/figure on the home screen to go to the next problem. All students solve each problem, and they can keep track of their individual points as they play. We usually play a knockout game, or another similar game, in each unit of study.

QR Code Task Cards or Game

When you add a little bit of tech to your day, students get a little more engaged. Have you noticed that with your students too? This set of task cards uses QR codes to give students access to the answers. This gives them immediate feedback on how they’re doing, which can really help make their practice time more productive. Task cards have so many uses, which is why I love them so much. In addition to the answers, I added another QR code on each card that reveals a number of points that students get for completing that card correctly. This is an optional way of adding a game feel to these task cards (check out this post for more tips on using QR codes).

With these QR code task cards, students practice writing linear equations from tables, written descriptions, graphs, and two coordinate points.

Math Games-Write a Rule from a Table

Fast finishers need something to do, and mathgames.com has a lot of practice activities for students. In this activity, students have to write a rule from a table. This definitely challenges students and it gives them feedback along the way. There are a couple of levels that students can play, and they earn points while they play.

Slope or y-intercept? Kahoot(20 questions or 10 questions)

I realized that my students mix up slope and y-intercept, and they really, really need to be able distinguish between them. I used these two Kahoots in my math lab and in my regular class as an anticipatory set. The big idea that they learn is that slope is a rate and y-intercept is a point. Some students they need more repetitions of this idea than other. Kahoot is a fun way to practice, but shouldn’t be the only way that you practice. This game is interactive and timed, which adds to the fun, but it can also get certain students nervous during game play. I think they also need other ways to practice that are a little less exciting.

Slope or y-intercept Sorting Game

For an interactive, paper-based approach to distinguishing between slope and y-intercept slope, this sorting activity was a winner in my class. First, students have to look at some situations and determine if each one represents slope or y-intercept. Then, they sort and paste them. Students also have an opportunity to explain what the situation means in context. I love this activity because it gets students talking about what is going on, not just doing work and solving problems.

There was a question on our formative assessment that was very similar to this activity. Students had to sort terms to show whether they referred to slope or to y-intercept. Students who did well on that one question did well on the whole assessment overall. However, the students who struggled with this task struggled on the rest of the test. This realization just reinforced for me how vitally important it is that students understand all the terms used to talk about the idea of slope (rate of change, increase, per, etc.) and y-intercept (initial value, starting point, etc.)

Worksheets

I don’t often just give students worksheets and send them on their way. I do find that there are a lot of worksheets out there and I know I can use them in more engaging ways. You can use them to play the target game or whiteboard football. When I do use worksheets in class, I make sure that I’m checking in with students as frequently as possible to make sure they’re getting what they’re doing. I usually talk to them about the first couple of problems and help them correct their misconceptions before it’s too late.

Writing Linear Equations with Slope and a Point Carousel Activity

This Writing Linear Equations Carousel activity is a great freebie from 4 the Love of Math is a great freebie over at Teachers Pay Teachers. This carousel activity, or gallery walk activity, gets students up and moving. It focuses on a couple of skills we haven’t encountered on this post. One is writing an equation from the slope and one point. The other skill is changing an equation from standard to slope intercept form.

My advanced classes use these problems and this activity as an extension. I have them work in partners and they try to see if they can figure it out on their own. It’s cool to see them struggle and then figure out what’s happening and how to do this type of problem.

Try one thing

So, I know that this is a lot of things to take in. I always tell myself and my colleagues to just try one thing. Try a new strategy and get comfortable with that strategy before you move on to something else. Maybe try a new game with task cards or do a knockout review game. Students really do appreciate your efforts to make practicing math more fun.

Also, be sure to check out the Slope Intercept Knockout Game, Maze, and Task Cards in this cost-saving bundle here. They’re low-prep and engaging ways to get students the practice they need to really own these concepts.

Thanks so much for reading. Until next time!