The SURN Math Forum blog allows teachers to share and showcase what they are doing in their classrooms, offers a forum for questions, and lets viewers read posts of how teachers are working to effectively use mathematics strategies they learned at the workshop.
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.
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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