Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Unifix for Pythagorean Theorem Proof
I had a student come in for tutoring this week because he was having trouble applying the Pythagorean Theorem. In an "aha" moment I pulled out the cubes to walk through the proof again with him (in class the students used the Pythagorean Theorem Model from the state's website). I could see the lights getting brighter as we created Pythagorean triples with the cubes and walked through solving for a missing side with the manipulatives. He had a break-through and did very well on his quiz the next day.
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This sounds like a great idea. I will try this with my geometry class. The majority of them have never used the Pythagorean Theorem which is frustrating in a high school geometry class. This idea may work during remediation with the students who really do not understand.
ReplyDeleteYes that does sound like a good idea. I like to have my students work it out paper and pencil. Sometimes the students can't handle manipulatives but this might be one of those times I must endure and warn them. Being able to show them solving for the hypothenuse and then for the leg is great. Better grather up my cubes now!
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