Yesterday, I finally introduced my Algebra 1 students to slope intercept form using a new y=mx+b foldable that I created. .
I have had several students who have been really anxious to get to this part of the chapter. These are students who are taking Algebra 1 for the second time or have moved in from another school district. Most of my students, however, have never seen this equation before in their lives.
Last Saturday, as I was “teaching” Saturday School, I came up with the idea for this foldable. I say “teaching” because all I really did was help one student with EOI practice questions and teach two other students how to do KenKen puzzles. (And, if you haven’t signed up for the KenKen teachers program, you totally should. They will e-mail you a ton of new puzzles each week! I like to use these for early finishers or that class that finishes ten minutes faster than all of your other classes. It is great mental math practice which is something my students definitely need. And, it’s building their critical thinking skills. All the students I have done them with so far have loved them. I always start them off on 3 X 3 puzzles, and they will let you know when they are ready to go up to a larger puzzle!)
I want to say that this y=mx+b foldable is original. But, I so rarely come up with something that is completely my own. So if it’s not original and you came up with this, please let me know so I can link back to a source.


The inside of the tabs remind students what the m and b stand for in slope-intercept form.

This is the actual color of paper I used. I don’t know why it didn’t come through in all my pictures.
I used this lesson as an opportunity to circle back once again to independent and dependent variables.
Most of my students are still struggling with converting equations into Slope Intercept Form. So, we’ll be working more on that today.



We also did a Frayer Model over the y-intercept



Free Download of Slope Intercept Form y=mx+b Foldable
y=mx+b foldable (PDF) (1412 downloads)
Frayer Model – 2 Per Page (PDF) (1997 downloads)
It’s not the most elegant template, but it worked. This is sized to fit in our notebook sideways with extra room to write several sentences worth of notes.
If you are not doing interactive notebooks, I would suggest making it slightly larger so you will have more space to write inside.
More Activities for Teaching Forms of Linear Equations
- Forms of Linear Equations Foldable
- Rearranging Equations for y Foldable
- Converting Equations to Slope Intercept Form Notes
- Point-Slope Form Dice Activity
- Different Forms of Linear Functions Foldable
- Linear Foldable y=a+bx
- Flyswatter Review Game for Different Forms of Linear Equations
- Point-Slope Form Foldable
- Standard Form of a Linear Equation Cut and Paste Activity
- Standard Form of a Linear Equation Foldable
- Slope Intercept Form y=mx+b Foldable
Miss Freeze
Friday 8th of November 2019
Used this today and it was awesome! Definitely size up the file, though, if you aren't using INB. I'd probably tweak it a bit before I handed it out again; the kids had a hard time figuring out what to cut away and what to keep. I printed a few extras to hand out when they made a mistake though and that helped a lot!
Unknown
Monday 2nd of January 2017
Hey Sarah. Why can't I see where to download your foldables at the bottom of the page? There is just a blank space. Am I doing something wrong?
Miss Freeze
Thursday 7th of November 2019
Thank you, Makenzie! We're using this today.
Unknown
Tuesday 3rd of January 2017
Thanks so much!
Cindy
Friday 11th of March 2016
Sarah,
I love your blog! Thanks for sharing all your ideas. I was wondering if I could use two pictures from this page for my online class?
Cindy (teaches math for BYUI online)
Sarah Carter (@mathequalslove)
Tuesday 29th of March 2016
Thanks, Cindy! Use whatever pictures you need!
Christine Mishra
Sunday 6th of March 2016
I would love to use this with my students this week, but I can't see a link to the file. Could you post the link again? or let me know where to find it? I saw that on another post you posted the link to "a searchable link to all my files" but I coudln't find it there (and there wasn't a search option)...Thanks in advance!
Sarah Carter (@mathequalslove)
Tuesday 29th of March 2016
So glad you were able to make it work!
Christine Mishra
Tuesday 8th of March 2016
Oh nevermind about this file! I found your y=a+bx file on another post and modified that, so I have what I need. Thanks!
Unknown
Saturday 12th of December 2015
Do you have more info for the link to your 3 minute Ken Ken video? The link is broken. I really like using those puzzles, but find it hard to explain the directions.
Sarah Carter (@mathequalslove)
Monday 14th of December 2015
Try this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eik2syOmwSM