Lesson Planning Sheet Title: Pythagoras Theorem Learning Objectives: By the end of the lesson: All students should

be able to identify the hypotenuse of a right angled triangle as the longest side. Most students should be able to calculate length of the hypotenuse in a right angled triangle. Some students should be able to calculate the length of the hypotenuse in an isosceles triangle when given its base and perpendicular height. Keywords: Pythagoras, Theorem, Pythagoras, Perpendicular, Right-angled triangle Learning Activities Starter/Introduction Explain that there is a relationship between the three sides of a right angled triangle, which we will investigate. The start of the lesson is used to discover Pythagoras Theorem by construction. It is important to note this demonstration is not a proof of the theorem. Using cm squared paper students draw a 3cm vertical and 4cm horizontal line, the ends of which are joined to create a right angled triangle. Define the line opposite the right angle as the Hypotenuse side and have the class measure its length. At this point the class could predict patterns given the lengths of the three sides are 3cm, 4cm and 5cm. Construct another right angled triangle to test the hypothesis. When the class identify the relationship between the three sides is not obvious from the lengths, encourage them to consider the areas of the shapes draw in proportion to the lengths of each edge using their previously drawn triangles. Once the class recognise the pattern is, the sum of the area of the two small squares is equal to the area of the shape on the hypotenuse side, it may be worthwhile testing this further using the interactive Geogebra and Autograph V3.3 files in additional resources. Development Use the third slide to have the class formally derive Pythagoras Theorem by defining the two smaller edges as a and b with the hypotenuse as c. Use the interactive Microsoft Excel file to work through a few examples. Students should then be able to work through the problems on the fourth slide independently. Plenary The plenary is intended to provide a real life application for Pythagoras Theorem. Have the class create a sketch to model the problem as a right angled triangle. Using the sketch, the class should identify the hypotenuse side as the length of the ladder. Have solutions presented on mini-whiteboards for assessment and feedback. Differentiation More able: Students could consider calculating the length between two coordinate pairs using Pythagoras Theorem. Students could formally prove the theorem. See YouTube video for demonstration. Less Able Students may need additional practise identifying the hypotenuse side. Use Pythagorean triples to simplify calculations. Resources: Mini-Whiteboards Pythagoras Proof Interactive Geogebra & Autograph V3.3 File Interactive Microsoft Excel File