Algebra 1

Eighth Grade

As the students were reviewing congruence vs. similarity, Student A said that congruence
means its the same figure or shape. He goes on to say that similarity means its the same shape,
but not perfectly the same. He stumbles for a minute as other students call out that its the
same figure, the lengths of the sides are the same, the angles measure the same, etc. As the
conversation continued, the teacher asked if similar shapes can have sides that are the same
length. Student B originally said yes, but then Student A said no because congruent shapes have
the same lengths of sides, and congruence and similarity are not the same thing. The teacher
gave an example of one triangle that has a side of 4 and the same side of a second triangle has a
side of 8. The students recognized this as proportional. So they came to the conclusion that
similar shapes are proportional to each other, while congruent shapes are the same as one
another.

The errors made as the students were discussing congruence vs. similarity are simply
language development of the concept. It is important for them to know not only the vocabulary
for both congruent and similarity, but also be able to apply that vocabulary to the figures theyre
looking at. I think the discussion the teacher had with the students and the examples she was
putting on the board reinforced this and allowed the students to be successful on the assignment.
Affect across the grade spans
Math errors of any type can effect learning across the grade spans because the concepts
build on each other. If a second grader cannot distinguish between words that mean to subtract
or add, then by the time they get to algebra they will have a hard time understanding what
proportion means. It is imperative that teachers of all grade levels review important vocabulary
and concepts to ensure the students understand before they continue on with new material.