LESSON PLAN

Name: Rahul Bhandari

Title of lesson: Congruent Triangles Conjectures.

Length of lesson: Three 50 minute class periods

Description of the class:

Name: Geometry
Grade level: High School
Honors or regular: Honors

TEKS addressed:

(a) Basic understandings.

2) Geometric thinking and spatial reasoning. Spatial reasoning plays a critical role in
geometry; shapes and figures provide powerful ways to represent mathematical situations
and to express generalizations about space and spatial relationships. Students use
geometric thinking to understand mathematical concepts and the relationships among
them.
(4) The relationship between geometry, other mathematics, and other disciplines.
Geometry can be used to model and represent many mathematical and real-world
situations. Students perceive the connection between geometry and the real and
mathematical worlds and use geometric ideas, relationships, and properties to solve
problems.
(6) Underlying mathematical processes. Many processes underlie all content areas in
mathematics. As they do mathematics, students continually use problem-solving,
computation in problem-solving contexts, language and communication, connections
within and outside mathematics, and reasoning, as well as multiple representations,
applications and modeling, and justification and proof.
(b) Geometric structure: knowledge and skills and performance descriptions.
(2) The student analyzes geometric relationships in order to make and verify conjectures.
Following are performance descriptions.
(A) The student uses constructions to explore attributes of geometric figures and
to make conjectures about geometric relationships.
(B) The student makes and verifies conjectures about angles, lines, polygons,
circles, and three-dimensional figures, choosing from a variety of approaches such
as coordinate, transformational, or axiomatic.

The Lesson:
 I. Overview
The goal of this lesson is to have students determine the minimum requirements
needed for congruent triangles.

II. Performance or learner outcomes

The students will be able to: determine the minimum requirements needed for
congruent triangles. They should be able to use properties like SSS, SAS, ASA,
SAA, and the HL (only true for Rt. Angle Triangles)

III. Resources, materials and supplies needed

Rulers, scissors, papers, protractors, etc

IV. Supplementary materials, handouts.

Handout for Homework—Attached

Five-E Organization

Teacher Does Student Does

Engage:
Learning Experience Student Activity
Prior Knowledge: Students are listening and answering
Use of slides (pictures of Rhombus and questions.
Square) to assess understanding of
difference between similar and congruence.

Questions Expected Student Answers

1. What are the characteristics you 1. Color, Maker, Hub-caps, etc.
look for to determine similarity?
Example: Is CAR-A similar to
CAR-B?
2. Show them rhombus and square and 2. Yes/No
ask if they are similar.
3. How can you tell if they are equal? 3. They have the same sides and angles.
4. Congruent.
4. What is a geometrical way to say
equal? 5. Similarity deals with the appearance
5. What is the difference between while the congruence deals with the
similar and congruent? measurement.

Evaluate: Teacher will make sure students are on task and participating.

Teacher Does Student Does

Explore:
Learning Experience(s) What the students are doing
GAME: Students are finding congruent triangles.
Students will be provided with index cards
that have measurements for the triangle. Once students are done finding match, then
Goal: they will construct and cut their triangle to
Students will find at least one congruent see if they are congruent triangles.
triangle to theirs. However, none of them
will be congruent. The students will have to
find someone with the closest
measurements to theirs. That will bring out
the misconceptions like AAA and ASS.

Questions Expected Student Answers

1. What approach are you using to
solve this problem?
2. How do you know if the two
triangles are congruent?
1. Answer will vary depending on
group.
2. They will try to relate the
measurements between the
triangles.

Evaluate: The teacher will walk around the room to assess each group’s progress.

Teacher Does Student Does

Explain:
Learning Experience(s) What the students are doing
Teacher is listening to students’ ideas. Groups are presenting their work.
Calling on different students to give their Students are listening and discussing
opinions. opinions.

Questions Expected Student Answers

Address to class:
1. Do you agree this group has a 1. Yes/No; answer will vary
match? Why?
2. What approach did your group use? 2. answer will vary
(answers will be written on the
board as “rules”)
Teacher will call upon the groups that Students are explaining why AAA and ASS
have AAA and ASS congruent triangles do not work.
to clarify these characteristics are
invalid.
Evaluate: The teacher will ask questions to guide the discussion.

Teacher Does Student Does

Explore:
Learning Experience(s) What the students are doing
Problem: The City of Austin is putting a Listening to instructions.
swing set in the park. Before they can put Working in groups to solve the problem.
the top bar on, they need to make sure the
supports will balance the swing. (supports
are triangles)
Goal: Find the least number of equal
characteristics and all the possible ways use
the characteristics of the two triangles that
make them congruent. (We will refer to the
previous lesson that there is more than one
way to get to point A to point B.) Recall
that they cannot use AAA and ASS.

Questions Expected Student Answers

1. What approach are you using to 1. Answer will vary depending on
solve this problem? group.
2. How do you know if the two 2. They will try to relate the
triangles are congruent? measurements between the
triangles.
Evaluate: The teacher will walk around the room to assess each group’s progress.

Teacher Does Student Does

Explain:
Learning Experience(s) What the students are doing
Teacher is listening to students’ ideas. Groups are presenting their work.
Calling on different students to give their Students are listening and discussing
opinions. opinions.

Questions Expected Student Answers

1. (Before presentations) How 1. Answer will vary.
many different ways did your
group find? Which are they?
(Teacher will have every
group present different ways
based on their answers.)
2. (During presentations) 2. Students are answering, paying
Teacher will call on students attention to student ideas.
to make sure they understand
each group’s solution. 3. Answer will vary.
3. (After groups have presented)
What are the similarities and
differences between the
presentations? 4. Student should be able to explain
 4. Teacher will call on a student that three characteristics are
and ask them to explain what needed to find congruent
we just learned. triangles.
Works: SSS, SAS, AAS, ASA
Doesn’t: AAA, SSA or the reverse.
Evaluate: The teacher will ask questions to guide the discussion.

Teacher Does Student Does

Extend / Elaborate:
Learning Experience(s) What the students are doing
Teacher will assign worksheet to the Students are individually working on the
students that will ask them to use the worksheet.
properties to find if the triangles are
congruent.

The last problem will have an equilateral Students will get back in the group to find the
divided into two right angle triangles. This new rule that shortens SAS for the right angle
will guide them to find the congruent triangle.
triangle in case of right angle triangles
(HL).
Teacher will ask them to shorten the SAS
property that will be valid for all right
angle triangles.
If necessary, teacher will ask students what
every right angle triangle has common in it.
This will guide them to realize they have a
common angle i.e. 90 degrees.

Evaluate: Teacher is walking around to assess each student’s progress.