From+My+House+to+Yours

= **The Distance From My House to Yours Lesson Plan** =

Objectives:

 * To recognize the connection between the Pythagorean Theorem and the Distance Formula
 * To be able to accurately calculate the distance between two coordinate points using the distance formula
 * To be able to accurately calculate the midpoint between two coordinate points using the midpoint formula

**Lesson Plan:**
Using the Distance Formula to find the distance from one location in Blooming Prairie to another  Differentiation will occur by allowing students to pick the landmark or house in Blooming to draw and find its location on the classroom floor which will be gridded as a map of Blooming Prairie.  The students will first be taken to the computer lab and be asked to find the website [] and locate Minnesota and then zoom in to Blooming Prairie on the map. Once the city street map is in view, the student will print it for reference later. Then the student will click on the Aerial application, Bird’s eye and find either his/her house or one of the businesses, churches, schools, or parks in town and use the image to draw a picture including a title. (Spacial-Visual)  Once the students have completed the picture, we will, as a class move, back to the classroom to tape the pictures on the floor at the correct coordinates according to the map.  The students will be grouped into quadrants and will need to find all the distances between all the locations within that quadrant. (Kinesthetic, Interpersonal) One student will record the coordinates, name of the locations, and the distance between the location. Students will also need to estimate the midpoint between the locations.  Once back at their seats, I will introduce the distance formula d = Square root of (x1 – x2)2 + (y1 – y2)2 and show the students how it is exactly the same as the Pythagorean Theorem which is what they used to find the distances on the floor of the classroom. I will then explain how to find the exact midpoint with the midpoint formula m = (x1 - x2/2, y1 - y2/2).    The students will then move back to the computer lab to complete the lesson by accessing the website [] to work on an interactive graph and see the distance formula at work. (Logical-Mathematical)  The students will then write a blog entry how the distance formula can be applied to a real-world situation. (Linguistic) <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Students will be graded by a formal assessment and whether they can accurately use the distance formula. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">There is also a Performance Task Rubric over the whole project. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Technology Used:
<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif; margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">· Bing Maps [] <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif; margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">· Bing Bird’s Eye <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif; margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">· An interactive distance formula website [] <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif; margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">· Digital Cameras if the students would rather take photos of the locations rather than draw them

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Bloom's Taxonomy:

 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Knowledge - The learner knows the formulas.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Comprehension - The learner understands how to plug the coordinates into the formulas.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Application - The learner can use the information to find distances and midpoints in real-life situations.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Analysis - The learner can identify that when the question asks to find the perimeter, it is actually asking for the distance around the outside of the polygon which can be found by applying the distance formula.
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Synthesis - The learner can recognize that the distance formula is really just the application of the Pythagorean Theorem and the midpoint is just the average of the x's and y's.