This page contains a video integration lesson plan about special right triangles.
This video gives information on the relationship between the sides of a 45-45-90 triangle and where that relationship comes from. It also goes over an example to see how the relationship comes into play when solving a 45-45-90 triangle.
This video reviews the relationship between the sides of a 45-45-90 triangle and also gives several examples to help students see how to solve these types of triangles.
This video will reinforce the relationship the sides of a 45-45-90 triangle have with each other by going over several examples.
This video will also reinforce the relationship the sides of a 45-45-90 triangle have with each other by going over several examples.
This video will also reinforce the relationship the sides of a 45-45-90 triangle have with each other by going over several examples.
This video gives background information on where the relationship between the sides of a 30-60-90 triangle comes from by using properties of an equilateral triangle.
This video reinforces to topic of 30-60-90 triangles by going over a few examples of solving these types of triangles.
Introduction: This lesson will show learners how to solve 45-45-90 and 30-60-90 triangles without using the Pythagorean Theorem. These triangles have special relationships, so students will learn how these relationships are used to find the length of certain sides of the triangles.
Content Area and Grade or Age Level of Students: This lesson would be used in a high school Geometry class. In my school, this would be students in grades 9-10. In some other schools it might go up to grade 11.
Objectives: After this lesson, students will be able to… Accurately solve a 45-45-90 triangle. Accurately solve a 30-60-90 triangle.
Standards Addressed: Minnesota State Math Standards- Students will be able to… Know and apply properties of geometric figures to solve real- world and mathematical problems and to logically justify results in geometry. Know and apply properties of right triangles, including properties of 45-45-90 and 30-60-90 triangles, to solve problems and logically justify results.
Relative Advantage: There are several relative advantages of this video-based lesson. First of all, it gives students a chance to listen to someone other than their teacher. Sometimes, students start to “tune out” their teacher as the year goes on, so it can be beneficial for students to listen to someone else’s voice. Also, students often find videos more engaging and entertaining than traditional lectures, so a video-based lesson can be more motivating for students and they may gain a better understanding of the content.
Grouping Strategies: My school has a 1:1 iPad program, so each student will complete the activities on his or her own iPad. If students have questions as they work on their homework assignments, they can briefly ask their peers for help, but there won’t be any grouping beyond that.
Learning Activities: On the first day, the focus will be on 45-45-90 triangles. The students will start the day by watching the videos in the order they are presented, and while they do so, they will complete the video guide worksheet. Then, the teacher will go over some examples with students, starting with completing a few problems on the board. After that, the students will try and solve the problems on their own. The teacher will put problems on the board, and students will write their answers on their iPads, treating them as personal whiteboards. Students will then hold the answers up to the teacher and the teacher will tell them if they got the right answer or not. This will allow the teacher to see right away if students understand the concepts or not. Students will work on the worksheet with whatever class time is left after this activity. The same process will take place the second day, but with 30-60-90 triangles.
Assessment: Each day, students will complete a worksheet where they will practice solving the different types of special right triangles. The scores students get on these worksheets will tell both the teachers and the students how well the students understood the concepts. Students will also be assessed on the quizzes and tests that normally occur in the Right Triangles chapter.
Adaptations for Learners with Special Needs: In my school, students with special needs are typically placed in an Adaptive Math class and do not take mainstream high school Geometry. Even so, there are a few adaptations that could be made. First of all, the captions on the videos could be turned on in English to help ELL students. Some videos also have the option of captions in a different language. Also, the teacher would have to make sure to speak and write on the board at the same time so that students who may not understand the words can still make sense of what is going on. Finally, the videos naturally lend themselves to learners with slower processing because these students can pause, rewind, and re-watch the videos as many times as they need to.