Lesson 7 of 9 Linear Functions 1

Lesson Title: The Family and Subfamilies of Linear Functions

Creator: Mark Davis

Editors: Rebekah Adams, Camila Ash

Standards Met: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSF.LE.A.2

Materials Needed:
1. Scrap paper for each student (Related to Activity: Function Families and
Subfamilies)
2. Graph paper for each student (Related to Activity: Function Families and
Subfamilies)

Lesson Objectives: Students will be able to…

1. Define the terms “function family,” “parent function,” and “function
subfamily” in both mathematical and casual terminology.
2. Identify the parent function of any linear function family or subfamily.
3. Construct the graphs of linear function families using the graph of the parent
function.

Procedure
Warm-Up: Slopes and Intercepts of Linear Functions. – 15 minutes
 Students will have previously learned how to find the slope and intercept of
equations of the form y – b = m(x – d), and that they can be adjusted to create
linear functions in the form of f(x) = y = m(x – d) + b. This warm-up is meant
to have students recall the algebraic process for determining the graph of a
linear equation, and will contain the graphs of each
 Students will individually complete 6 problems from the class book from the
chapter on completing equations of the form in previous bullet point at their
tables/desks. The teacher will be assisting as many students as possible.
After 3 minutes, the teacher will ask students who have finished (having
been identified by silently raising their hands) to help their tablemates finish
the rest of the worksheet. At the 6-minute mark, the teacher will ask students
to either stop working and focus on the teacher, or continue to work quietly
at their tables. The teacher will then ask 2 different students to demonstrate
2 of the problems. These 2 problems will have been indicated by 2 other
students who had struggled with them. The teacher will ask the rest of the
class for both confirmation and respectful corrections on what the presenting
students did.
Activity: Function Families and Subfamilies. – 40 minutes
 This activity will help students learn how to define the terms “function
family,” “parent function,” and “function subfamily” in both mathematical and
casual terminology. Students will then learn how to identify the parent
function of any linear function family or subfamily. Finally, students will

Mark Davis
 Linear Functions 2

learn to construct the graphs of linear function families using the graph of the
parent function.
 The teacher will provide a 10-minute lecture on the formal definitions of
“function family,” “parent function,” and “function subfamily.” Students will
record what the teacher writes on the board, in terms of definitions and
examples. The definitions of the previously stated terms are the following,
respectively: “A family of functions is a set of functions whose equations have
a similar form;” “the ‘parent’ of the family is the equation in the family with
the simplest form;” and “a sub-family of linear functions is a set of functions
whose equations have the same slope.” Throughout the lecture, the teacher
will stop and ask students for questions roughly every 2 minutes. The
teacher will also provide 3 examples of the use of these terms in the form of
graphs. The examples will be the following: What is the parent function and
what is the subfamily of functions for each of the functions, 1) f(x) = 8x – 4, 2)
f(x) = -5.5x + 2, and 3) f(x) = -7x – 3.5. Once the teacher has finished the
lecture, they will ask students for multiple ways of defining the terms in
casual language.
 In their table-groups, students will be asked to create linear function
subfamilies by stating the function family parent, the function subfamily
parent, and 6, 9, or 12 functions of the subfamily (depending on the number
of students in the group). Students will be assessed by whether each group of
2-4 students is able to complete the activity. The qualifications, which will be
written on the board, are the following: 1) the group must come up with a
parent of the function family and a parent of the function subfamily; 2) each
student must create 3 functions within that subfamily; 3) the family and
subfamily parents must be graphed on each student’s sheet of graph paper,
leaving space for 3 more graphs; and 4) once finished, each student within
the group must graph one other group partner’s 3 linear functions;
 Once students have finished, the teacher will ask students if it was easier to
see the family function, and explain why.

Students will not be given homework other than lecture notes and the activity.
Material will be assessed on the quiz after Lesson 9.

Mark Davis