• Open the spreadsheet to be seen by the entire class, or have individual students open it at their own computers.
• Explain to the students that slope is the steepness of a line, and is represented by the letter "m" in the slope-intecept equation of y=mx+b.
• Have the students experiment by putting different values in for slope in the yellow box provided in the slope intercept equation. Encourage then to try lots of different numbers including positives, negatives, and decimals.
• Ask then what patterns, relationships, and generalizations they can discover. They should be able to determine the difference in the graph between positive and negative slopes, what a zero slope looks like, what lines with slopes between 1 and -1 look like, and hypothesize what slope a vertical line would have.
• This activity is great for discussing and illustrating the idea of slope and the graph of a line.

Standards (Ohio Academic Content Standards):

• Math - Grade 8 - Patterns, Functions, and Algebra
  • #6 - Describe the relationship between the graph of a line and its equation, including being able to explain the meaning of slope as a constant rate of change and y-intercept in real-world problems.
  • #13 - Compute and interpret slope, midpoint and distance given a set of ordered pairs.
  • #15 - Describe and compare how changes in an equation affects the related graphs; e.g., for a linear equation changing the coefficient of x affects the slope and changing the constant affects the intercepts.
• Math - Grade 9 - Patterns, Functions, and Algebra
  • #14 - Describe the relationship between slope and the graph of a direct variation and inverse variation.