September 2021:

September's Strategy: Model with Mathematics

• Functions are an important way to model with mathematics. We want our students to be able to identify important quantities in a practical situation and map their relationships using such tools as diagrams, two-way tables, graphs, flowcharts and formulas; often, these relationships are functions!
• Math is About Connections and Communicating. Math is a connected subject, and a form of communication. Represent math in different forms - such as words, a picture, a graph, an equation - and link them. Color code. The more ways students can represent a function, the better.
• For Elementary Students: Although we think of functions In high school math, elementary students can also access this concept! Imagine a machine with a very simple rule, like "add 2." Every number you feed into the machine will only have one number come out! Attached to the September Math Monthly is a coloring page for younger students; have them write a rule, pick some numbers to go in, and figure out what comes out.

September's Vocabulary:

Function: A mathematical relationship from a set of inputs to a set of outputs. The output value depends on (is a function of) the input value and each input produces exactly one output.

Domain: The set of all possible inputs (independent variable)

Range: The set of all possible outputs (dependent variable - these depend on the input)