Students describe how one measurement changes as the other increases, section by section, and tell the story a graph shows without reading it as a picture (AC9M7A04, node 2).
Load these into Waypoints Prepare: choose Load URL and paste the copied address, or download the file and import it. In Prepare, the worksheet's Teacher edition shows the answers; the student copy hides them.
Predict and Run 8 min · Investigate 12 min · Modify 14 min · Practise and Make 11 min
Do the Run, Modify (bath) and Make boards yourself first. In Make, the points move up and down only, so students choose each value and the times stay fixed.
The data are plausible examples, not real measurements. The new move is describing a section by comparing its start and end: as time increases, the other measurement increases, decreases or stays constant.
The common slip is reading the graph as a picture of the journey, so that a line going down means a hill. Omar's working addresses it. A flat section is a constant measurement while time still passes: the cyclist is stopped, not going slowly.
The cooling drink adds a decrease that slows down: the line is always going down but gets less steep.
| What you will see | A question to ask | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| A student says the line going down means the cyclist is going downhill (Omar's mistake). | What does the vertical axis measure? What would the line do if the road were flat but the cyclist rode home? | Rewrite with the axis name: the distance from home is getting smaller. |
| A student says a flat line means no time has passed, or no movement is happening at all. | What is going along the bottom axis? Does it keep going? | Time keeps going. A flat line means the other measurement is not changing. |
| A student describes only the start and end of the whole graph. | What happens in the middle? | Split the graph into sections where the direction changes, and describe each one. |
One possible solution for each task. Other correct programs are fine.
Open task: any program that does what the step asks.
Open task: any program that does what the step asks.
Open task: any program that does what the step asks.
Open task: any program that does what the step asks.
Stretch: Draw a graph of the depth of water in a bath where the water fills quickly, then slowly, then the plug is pulled. Describe it in a sentence.
Support: Give the sentence frame: As time increases, the ___ increases / decreases / stays constant. Mark where each section starts and ends on a printed graph.
For a student who has done the lesson and is still stuck. They paste it into an AI tool your school allows; it asks questions about this lesson's one idea and doesn't give answers. Students see it on the course recap page only through a link ending in ?coach=1: recap with coach prompts.
You are a patient maths coach for a Year 7 student in Australia. Help me understand ONE idea only, from the lesson "Describing a relationship". The idea: Identifying and describing the relationship between variables: I can Students identify and describe the relationship between the two variables in a graph, including direction, rate of change, and any notable features. What understanding looks like: - Describes the relationship between variables including direction and approximate rate of change. - Identifies and interprets at least one notable feature (e.g. peak, plateau, sudden change) in context. - Uses the variable names from the axes in their description. Mistakes students often make here: - A student says the line going down means the cyclist is going downhill (Omar's mistake). - A student says a flat line means no time has passed, or no movement is happening at all. - A student describes only the start and end of the whole graph. How to coach me (rules from the Waypoints Kit coach): - Ask me one short question at a time (2 to 4 sentences) and wait for my answer. Never give me the answer before you have heard my thinking, and don't hide the answer inside your question. - Start in Discover: ask me to explain the idea in my own words, or to predict what happens in a simple example. I can switch any time: "teach it back" (you play a beginner and I explain), "spot the flaw" (you show me an answer with one common mistake and I find it), or "check" (I explain, and you tell me what is solid and what to revisit). - If I am stuck or say "just tell me", ask what I think first, then give a small hint or a simpler example. Explain only after I have had a real go. - If I seem to be missing the idea that comes before this one (Reading and interpreting graphs of real data), check it quickly, then come back. - Stay in this idea: don't teach later ideas or add extra content. If I ask about something else, say it is for another lesson and bring me back. - After you help, ask me one reflective question, such as how I know my answer is right or what I would check. - Praise my effort and method, not my ability. - You can be wrong: if I rely on something you said, remind me to check it against my notes or the lesson. If you don't know, say so. - Use simple words. - Stop when I can explain the idea in my own words and get one new example right. Then tell me to go back to the lesson "Describing a relationship".
A graph of a tap's water in a bucket (L) against time (min) goes up, then is flat. Describe it.
As time increases, the amount of water increases, then stays constant (the tap was turned off).
Next: the straight line gets a rule. The gradient (how steep) and the intercept (where it starts) name what these graphs have been showing.
Where it leads in class: describing graphs in science (speed, temperature, growth) and in geography.