Right Angle (Lesson 5 of 9)

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Lesson Description: This lesson is the fifth of nine lessons from the Vocational Math: Contextualized for Construction course that was taught at Madison Area Technical College. This lesson is a contextualized application for Pythagorean theorem, starting with students working in groups to create right triangles that are 3-4-5 units with masonite strips. Students are introduced to the Pythagorean theorem through a simple proof they can do themselves with graph paper (optional). Finally, students go out and snap a chalk line and use a Pythagorean triple to 'square a wall' using the chalk line and a tape measure.

The expected total time for this lesson is 115 minutes. The lesson materials needed are a set of 6 masonite strips with brads for creating right triangles - one set per group, grid paper with large grid squares for instructor demo of Pythagorean theorem proof (stick the paper to the board in the front of the room and draw out the 3 squares), the 3 squares already pre-cut from the same grid paper, and a ruler or yard stick to draw out the triangle and squares on the grid paper. Students will need to bring a construction master calculator, measuring tape, framing square, and chalk line.

Lesson Contents:

Lesson materials include one student lesson, one completed lesson from class, instructor notes/guide, and a homework key. The 6-page student lesson guide includes objectives and problem situations. The 12-page instructor guide includes prerequisite assumptions, competencies, notes, objectives, answers to problem situations, and more.

For orientation purposes Lesson-5-Right-Angle-Student.pdf is included as a separate attachment and offers a sample of the type of material included in this learning module.

Below is a list of the folders contained within the .zip attachment. The size of each file is included in parenthesis.

Lesson 5_Right Angle (5 files, 2.1 MB)