Introduction to Polynomial Functions

I was wanting a way to Introduce Polynomials functions in a cool way. So I did the best thing I could think of, I went on Twitter. I asked my tweeps to help me out a little and so I got into a conversation with @druinok, @jeff_lay, and they all brought out ideas that led me to this lesson.
I had not said anything about graphing polynomial functions or degrees or leading coefficients before the lesson. I made up this page to show the students.




I had them text their answers into http://www.polleverywhere.com. Once everyone texted their findings we went back and looked at what they found. Many of the items I was wanting them to find, they did. For instance, the seen where the degree of the equation was the same as the number of times the graph went through the x-axis. When we browsed the results, I made sure we understood that we can't assume all of these properties worked with every equation and graph.
This was a great way and an easy way for them to understand how polynomial equations work and how they are graphed.
Live long and learn lots
Mr. Love
#mrlove314