One of my favorite learning activities is Walk the Line. Students use their bodies and a Calculator Based Ranger (CBR) from Texas Instruments to create Distance vs. Time Graphs. I am currently using a very old model TI-83 Plus Silver Edition calculator along with the older model CBR. For my purposes, I find these older tools work quite well.
This activity is a good ice-breaker for the start of a new school year. Since I only have the one CBR, I have students come up in pairs to produce graphs while the other students work on Google Jamboard or on other activities. Students can see the graphs as they are being created on a large screen TV in the classroom (I use a document camera). When student teams finish creating a graph, they take the calculator back to their desks, take a photo of the graph using their Chromebooks to insert into a Jam (Students worked in pairs on a jam). This may seem like a lot of #edtech for the first weeks of school, but these students had little difficulty learning how to use the camera on the Chromebooks or how to use the tools in Jamboard to create something special. I talk them through the keystrokes on the Calculator after I set it up.
The best part of the activity is watching student faces light up when they begin to make sense of the graphs. One student thought backward movement would create a decreasing graph until he actually began to move. Curious faces turn into smiles and laughter as students ask "Can we do it again?!" No amount of lecture will give students a better understanding than creating these graphs with their own bodies.
You can find older versions of the Ranger in many online retail outlets for under $20 and the newer ones are around $80-$100.
If you have any questions about this activity or want to toss around ideas about using a CBR with your students, please join the conversation on Twitter.
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