Graph Story
The Challenge
This activity needs your imagination!
Start with a graph (choose one from below) and create a story from it!
It is all about the "shape" of your story.
Feel free to move the graph up, down, left or right, scale it, or flip it to suit your story.
Scaling: making it steeper means things are happening faster.
Flipping: turns an increase into a decrease or vice versa.
Flipping: turns an increase into a decrease or vice versa.
How to Build Your Story
Look at your chosen graph and think about:
- Going Up: Something is increasing (speeding up, getting hotter, filling up)
- Going Down: Something is decreasing (slowing down, cooling, emptying)
- Flat Lines: No change (waiting, staying still)
- Curves: The rate is changing (accelerating or "leveling off")
Story Starters
The Graph:
f(x) = x2
The Story:
"... suddenly gravity takes over ..."
(Note: flip the graph upside down for that one!)
The Graph:
f(x) = 1/x
The Story:
"... more and more people arrive to help ..."
The Graph:
Up Flat Down
The Story:
"... after walking for a while I arrived at the shops ..."
The Graphs
Choose one of these graphs:
Up Flat Up
Up Flat Down
Linear
f(x) = mx + b
f(x) = 1/x
f(x) = x2
f(x) = √x
f(x) = |x|
f(x) = ex
"Backwards" Challenge
- Pick a graph
- Write your story without saying which graph you picked
- Read it to a friend and see if they can guess your graph!