Derivative Lesson Idea

I am always looking for great math lesson ideas. You'll be surprised at the great ideas that you can find on the internet. I stumbled upon a blog by Steven Strogatz ( an opinionator for the NY Times, http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/category/steven-strogatz/). He describes Michael Jordan dunks using the idea of derivatives. I would love to do this with my students.

Strogatz states, "Just after lift-off, his vertical velocity (the rate at which his elevation changes in time, and thus, another derivative) is positive, because he’s going up. His elevation is increasing. On the way down, this derivative is negative. And at the highest point of his jump, where he seems to hang in the air, his elevation is momentarily unchanging and his derivative is zero. In that sense he truly is hanging."

I think this is a fun and interesting way to look at derivatives. I could even have the kids trace out the path of Michael Jordan so that they can get a clearer picture.

Do you have any ideas of how to teach dervatives in a fun way?