In trying to bridge the gap between our textbooks and the AP Calculus expectations, I felt that another unit needed to be created. For this reason, I developed this "Intro. to Calc." unit that takes place directly after a short "prerequisites" unit and right before introducing actual differentiation rules. I felt as if concepts like tangent/secant lines went hand-in-hand with concepts like the Mean Value Theorem and could be introduced conceptually without getting bogged down in the mechanics of differentiation. By introducing these concepts, they became fair game to be spiraled throughout the year.
An assignment on constructing secant and tangent lines. There are also questions eluding to horizontal tangents as well as the Mean Value Theorem (informally). This should be given after a lesson on constructing secant lines, the limit definition of the derivative, as well as tangent lines (90-180 minutes of instruction).