A question that teachers are constantly asking themselves is how to make math topics relevant in the eyes of their students. And since it seems that the higher levels of math being taught, the less of an issue this seems to be, this issue of relevancy is extremely common in Algebra I and Algebra II classes. Many students have a difficult time relating variables, equations, and algebraic concepts to anything they could ever have to do in the real world. So the question remains, what can you as an educator do to ensure that students see the relevancy of mathematics in the world around them, and how can you all but guarantee that your students can connect each unit of content in Algebra I & II to real world scenarios?
The following lesson plan is an example of how one might use real life examples to model mathematical concepts and keep students engaged throughout the entire lesson. This lesson designed to cover scatter plots, positive and negative correlations, and linear regressions uses TI-84 calculators and a Document Camera to model how to find linear regression equations as well as finding correlation coefficients. The following is just one example of how TI-84 graphing calculator can be used to engage students and help them relate algebraic concepts to the real world.