OER In Mathematics Professional Development Project    

Lesson Plan
Topic of the lesson: Standard(s)/Learning Result(s):
Pythagorean Theorem Geometry: Geometric Figures
Students solve problems involving geometric properties;
− Students know and use the Pythagorean Theorem.

Goal(s) of the Lesson:

What do you want the students to know and be able to do? What overarching questions do you want them to be able to answer?
The students will be able to:
-Find the square of a number using the area of a square.
-Find a square root of a number by using the length of the side of a square of the same area
The students will discover the Pythagorean theorem
Students will find the sides of a right triangle using the Pythagorean Theorem.
Context
What should students know to engage in the lesson?
-The students should have experience with exponents especially with squares (Ex. 52)
- The students should have experience finding the area of a square.

Associated Student Difficulties

Describe known misconceptions (overgeneralizations, common errors, and misunderstandings) associated with the content in this lesson?
Students often confuse the Area of Squares and Length of Sides when investigating the Pythagorean Theorem. If they use dot paper, they sometimes
miscount (Ex. They think that the distance on dot paper from A to B is how many dots there are or use the diagonal length between two dots)
Students sometimes have flawed understanding of squares and square roots such as thinking that squaring is doubling (52 = 10) or square roots are half
(square root 8 = 4)
Students sometimes have difficulties when they develop the Theorem through an activity. For example, they often have trouble remembering that the area
of the square on the side of the triangle is a2 and, the length of the side of the triangle is a. Because students remember the area of the square on one leg +
area of the square on the other leg = area of large square leads to thinking that a + b = c. Remind square of a is (a2) and square of b is b2 so a2 + b2 = c2
Students also forget that only applies to right triangles and sometimes misidentify legs and hypotenuse.
This resource was designed by Education Development Center, Inc. in collaboration with the Development Team Members of RSU#11 & RSU#54. This  work  is  
licensed  under  the  Creative  Commons  Attribution-­‐Non  Commercial-­‐Share  Alike  3.0  License.    This  resource  is  designed  to  support  the  use  of  OER  in  K-­‐12  
education.  

 
Planning for Differentiation
Describe how the lesson design incorporates a plan for differentiation.

There are very many applets available for understanding the derivation of the Pythagorean Theorem but since students often lack a deep understanding of
squares and square roots, it is important to engage these prerequisite ideas prior to having students engage with the formula.

If students continue to have difficulty with an understanding of squares and square roots, more problems may need to be introduced before moving on to
the Pythagorean Theorem.

Pre/Post Assessment
Review what you want students to know and be able to do. How will you determine what they know and don’t know? How will you determine that they have met the
target? (Describe the pre/post assessment)
Pre-Assessment
-The students will take a 5 question probe to determine if they are able to apply the Pythagorean Theorem.
Post-Assessment
-The students will take retake the same probe after remediating with applets.
Materials & Resources
Describe any tools and resources that are needed to support the lesson.

-Student explorations for practice with squares, square roots, and the Pythagorean Theorem
Technology Tools / Applets
What technology tools, applets, and/or resources you will use for this lesson?
-Laptop cart/Laptops
-Moodle / That Quiz / Activ Expression access (Network Access)
-Student Passwords for network and online tools
-Applet designed for squares, square roots, and the Pythagorean Theorem [Visualizing Square Roots, Pythagoras 1, Pythagorean Theorem]

What management strategies will you utilize during the lesson?

Work in groups differentiated by applet.
Teacher  Notes:  
 

This resource was designed by Education Development Center, Inc. in collaboration with the Development Team Members of RSU#11 & RSU#54. This  work  is  
licensed  under  the  Creative  Commons  Attribution-­‐Non  Commercial-­‐Share  Alike  3.0  License.    This  resource  is  designed  to  support  the  use  of  OER  in  K-­‐12  
education.  

 
 Lesson Description  
What resources will you need? What type of preparation is needed before you can begin the lesson?
Preparation

- Laptops
- Print Pre and Post Lesson Probes (Or make sure the probes are in an online administration site such as ThatQuiz.org)
- Print Exploration(s) for Pythagorean Theorem tool(s) planning to use
Approximate Time: 15-30 minutes one class, 45-60 minutes the second class

Lesson Questions for Learners Notes / Reflections

The day before the lesson, administer the pre-assessment so Write down everything you know about Provide student a paper. Have
you can analyze the data. exponents in the first column. them fold it in three equal parts.

• Students complete the “Pythagorean Theorem” pre- What do you know about exponents? Label the columns K-W-L:
assessment(s) (5-15 min). Squaring a number? Square roots?
- Know
Introduction

Use that data to determine which errors/misconceptions - Clarify what students explain…
students have. Engage students in responding to the pre- - Want to know
assessment questions and results without sharing definitive - Provide me more detail about…
- Learned
“answers.” Show and analyze electronic results (if using
A square that has a side length of x has an
clickers, ThatQuiz, Google Forms, etc.) and/or elicit
area of x2. Example a 2 by 2 square has an
example responses and student opinions. (5-10 min.)
area of 22 that is 2x2 or 4.
Introduce the overview of Squares and Square Roots
If you are given 52, what does that mean?
• Introduce the idea focusing on the concept of area
How do you evaluate the value of this term?
of a square.

This resource was designed by Education Development Center, Inc. in collaboration with the Development Team Members of RSU#11 & RSU#54. This  work  is  
licensed  under  the  Creative  Commons  Attribution-­‐Non  Commercial-­‐Share  Alike  3.0  License.    This  resource  is  designed  to  support  the  use  of  OER  in  K-­‐12  
education.  

 
 Lesson Questions for Learners Notes / Reflections

 
Build on the definitions and details that the students shared
about exponents and square root.  
Launch the “Visualizing Square Roots” applet.  
http://maine.edc.org/file.php/1/AssessmentResources/Sqrts
When you set the side of the square as 4,
Visual_F.html  
what is the area of the square?
Core Instruction

- Check the length of side checkbox. (Stress square units) a 2 + b 2 = c    

- Move the slide to set up the side of the square.
- Check the grid checkbox. Point out 4 x 4 can be represented as 42 so  
- Check the area of the square checkbox the area of the square represents 42.
 
Find the “Square” of various numbers (Area of Square) Each side of the square represents the square
root of the area of the square. Use  applet  to  generate  the  
Pythagorean  Theorem
Move to finding the square root of some squares
4 2 = 4  
Use the applet to estimate square roots
 
Have students complete the exploration.

Introduce right triangle with squares on the sides.

“Apply what you know about squares &
square roots to find the sides of the triangle.”

Summarize the Pythagorean Theorem

The sum of the squares of the lengths of the legs is equal to Note – Use the Pythagorean Theorem applet
Closure

the square of the length of the hypotenuse. (Right Triangle) to check some problems.

a2 + b2 = c2 a2 + b2 = c http://www2.esc9.net/math/geogebra/Pythag
orean%20Theorem/pythagorean_theorem.ht
ml

This resource was designed by Education Development Center, Inc. in collaboration with the Development Team Members of RSU#11 & RSU#54. This  work  is  
licensed  under  the  Creative  Commons  Attribution-­‐Non  Commercial-­‐Share  Alike  3.0  License.    This  resource  is  designed  to  support  the  use  of  OER  in  K-­‐12  
education.