Introduction to Graphing: Connecting the Dots from Geometry to Botany

Jaqua offers three activities on how can students connect the dots from geometry to botany. The students will work with graphs in three ways. They will read graphs, create graphs on paper and on graphing calculators or other technology, and use the results of graphing to help identify characteristics of the graph. In activity 1, students create dot-to-dot pictures as practice in reading and writing points in the coordinate plane. In activity 2, students incorporate the use of technology--graphing calculators or other graphics software--to transfer the outline of a picture of a real leaf onto the screen. Activity 3 moves students beyond the geometry of the leaves into botany. Here, they use dichotomous logic to choose between two possibilities at each step of identifying a particular leaf.