Lesson Planning Sheet Title: Trial & Improvement Learning Objectives: By the end of the lesson: All students

should be able to solve a quadratic equation in the form x2+ab=c using trial and improvement. Most students should be able to solve a quadratic and cubic equation using trial and improvement. Some students should be able to solve any none linear equation using trial and improvements as well as derive the equation using known facts. Key words: Trial & Improvement, Solve, High/Low, Calculate Learning Activities Starter/Introduction Present the problem on slide one. Students should be able to determine the area of the shape to derive x2 + x = 60. Students should discuss different strategies that could find x to one decimal place. Guide students into using a method of trial and improvement without explicitly teaching the method. Review the method with the students once they have attempted the problem using trial and improvement. Development Maintaining the pace developed through the starter present slide two. By this point students should have grasped the concept but will need guidance in how to present their work so that it highlights a clear systematically logical method. Students may need to be reminded about the squared button on the calculator. Alternatively the equation could be written in a spreadsheet program which again, will emphasise a clear and concise method of recording the trials. Have students work through the next problem using the table on mini-whiteboards for the teacher to assess progress. Plenary Challenge the students to attempt the open cuboid problem. Support could be given for deriving the equation by drawing the 3D representation and recapping volume. The problem is intended to contextualise the need for the method of trial and improvements. Have students work in pairs on a single whiteboard to be presented to the teacher at the end. Differentiation More able: Could practise solving cubics that involve a quadratic, linear and constant term. More emphasis could be placed on deriving equations such as the one in the plenary. Students could try use the table mode on their calculator (if it is available) to use trial and improvement through creating a function and setting the step to 0.1. Less Able A simpler introduction to the concept could be for them to guess a number that the teacher has chosen by asking no more than 10 questions which can only be answered yes or no. Students could do this together in pairs before progressing on to non linear equations. Students could stick to basic quadratic equations. The problem in the plenary could be substituted with the problem in the starter. Resources: