ELED 433 Math Methods

LESSON PLAN Example

TITLE/TYPE OF LESSON

The (actually) Effective Protractor

CONTEXT OF LESSONStudents should have prior knowledge of the customary units of measurement,
including, inches, foot, and centimeter. Students should understand and be able to use a ruler, yard-stick,
tape measurer. These concepts are to be implicit to the students by the time this lesson plan is
administered. The students should have a basic understanding of geometry and shape characteristics.
Specifically, students should know the prosperities of squares, triangles, rectangles, trapezoids,
hexagons, octagons, and other polygons. Students should have knowledge about the fundamental
properties of common (friendly) angles (90 degrees, 180 degrees, and 360 degrees), and angle
characteristics, specifically how they can use those angles and knowledge to identify various angles and
shapes.
CONCEPTS TO BE COVERED-- Angel measurements that can be specific to a degree. How to properly use
and understand the function of protractors to measure angels. Expansion of the specific qualities of an
obtuse, acute and right angle. This lesson is a continuation and expansion on the concept of angel
measurements, and identification of obtuse, acute, and right angels.
RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING
5.11
5.12

The student will measure right, acute, obtuse, and straight angles.
The student will classify
a) Angles as right, acute, obtuse, or straight; and
b) Triangles as right, acute, obtuse, equilateral, scalene, or isosceles.

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. The students will create their own useable protractor and use it to determine the various wedges and
angles provided to them on the handout
2. The students will use their protractor to being measuring angles by wedges, and determining the best
methods to measurement.
3. The students will develop an idea of angles as wedges that fill up the turn between two sides
4. This lesson will reinforce the idea that a smaller unit can yield a measurement that more closely
approximates to the true value
ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING
1. To assess objective 1, I will model the creation of a protractor using the over-head projector. I will go
step by step, and will ask for the students to hold their protractors up in the air when the step is
completed. Once all steps have been discussed, I will walk around the room to make sure that all
students have created the protractor correctly. During this part of the lesson, I will be asking questions to
students about their prior knowledge of protractors as an informal way to understand their
misconceptions and prior knowledge.
2. To assess objective 2, the students will be completing a worksheet with measurements by specified
wedges. I will be demonstrating what the idea and goal is for this worksheet. Then I will ask for student
engagement and go through each question and measurement, and ask for a student(s) to explain what
they did to solve for the angle.
3. Finally, to assess objective 3 and 4, I will be using the same process as I did for assessing objective 1
and 2. I will be using a second worksheet, this time for the students to complete with a partner. The
worksheet gradually asks for students to find angles using more specific units of measurements with
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their various protractors. While the students are completing the worksheet, I will be walking around
informally assessing their knowledge and understanding of the topic by listening to their conversations,
and interjecting with probing questions if needed. Once the class has completed the worksheet, we will
go over the answers together, and allow the students to adjust their measurements with a colored pencil.
This will allow me to collect the handout and have a better understanding of what their thinking process
looked like.
MATERIALS NEEDED
For each student:
Scissors
Wax Paper
Colored pencil
Paper for creating protractor
Ruler
Pencil
Worksheet for individual work, worksheet 1,
Pair of students:
Worksheet for pair work, worksheet 2 (exit ticket)
3 Extra protractors that the I have created
ANTICIPATION OF STUDENTS MATHEMATICAL RESPONSES TO THE TASK(S) POSED ARE
EMBEDDED IN THE PROCEDURES.
PROCEDURES
BEFORE

Anticipated student responses

These students have seen and touched on the

use of protractors when measuring angles.
They have identified obtuse, acute, and right
angles, but have not measured them for exact
identification and labeling. They seem to only
understand angles by identifying whether it is
greater or less then 90 degrees. My goal is to
help them understand the importance and
relevance of a protractor, and how to properly
use them.
On the document camera, I will show an angle
in the way they have seen them before and then
a more abstract version of the same angle
(where it is more difficult to determine if it is
obtuse or acute).
Example:

I will ask the students to help identify/label the

angles (obtuse, acute, or right) in the second
picture above

I will ask the students to explain to me what

knowledge they have of measurement in
degree

Finally, I will discuss with students what the

their knowledge of protractors and their
functions are, holding up examples of
protractors I bring in.

Student 1: The first angle is a right angle because it is

perfectly straight lines that create a box in the corner.
Teacher: Does everyone agree? Do we know for sure
that it is a right angle or are we making an educated
guess?
Student 2: Well we know it is a right angle because
when we draw the square in the corners of the other two
angles, it does not look right.
Teacher: What do you mean it doesnt look right? Can
we identify what the second angle is?
Student 3: The second angle is a acute angle because it
is smaller then the right angle.
Teacher: What is smaller?
Student 3: The area that the two arrows create when they
meet.
Teacher: Ok, so trying to use another explanation, can
anyone explain to me what the last angle is and why?
Student 4: the last angle has to be an obtuse angle
because it is bigger then the right angle, and does not
create a nice square like the right angle does.
Teacher: Ok so for all of these angles you all have been
correct, but I want to teach you how to find the degree
of the angle not just make a guess based off of the shape
the two lines create when connected. Because that
method is not full proof.
Teacher: Can anyone explain to the class and me what
degrees are? In terms of measurement?
Student 2: Well measurement is when you place a
number for the length or distance of something in a unit.
So like degree for temperature is based off of
Fahrenheit.
Teacher: yes that is absolutely correct, degree can also
be referred to as the distance an angle measures when
compared to a whole being 360 degrees, which is the
degree of a full circle.
Teacher: Has anyone heard of a protractor? And if so do
you know what they do? And how they work?
Student 1: Yes! Protractors measure angles, but I dont
really understand how, they are kind of like rulers, but
rounded.
Teacher: Yes, protractors measure the degree of an
angle, it is rounded like a half circle because, like we
said degrees in terms of measurement of angles are
based off of a 360 degrees like a full circle.
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DURING
Handout the 8, 10, 20 and 40-wedged
protractor cut outs for the students to use
Demonstrate how to create the 8-wedge
protractor. Go step by step with the students
using the document camera to show each step,
while this is happening, you can ask students
while others are finishing questions about
angles and measurement.
Making the protractor: the students fold a sheet
of wax paper to create a measuring tool (there
is a worksheet each student will receive that
details this process)
Once the protractor is made, the first and most
simple, 8 wedge is demonstrated using the
black line master protractor you have created
the Whats Your Angle? handout to the
students. Have the students cut out the angles
along the solid and dotted lines. Tell them that
they will learn to measure these various angles.
Guide them through the measurements and
questions on the handout.
During the demonstration the teacher will show
the student how they must align the point of
the angle with the point of the wedge, align one
side of the angle with one side of the wedge,
and count the number of wedges needed to
fill the angle. Remind students to measure to
the nearest wedge. By measuring this way, the
students will see that they need to decide
whether an angle is more or less than half a
wedge. As the class measures the wedges with
the 10-, 20, 40-wedge protractors, help them
see a pattern emerge. The measure of an angle
measured with a 10-wedge protractor should be
about half the measure of the angle measured
with a 20-wedge protractor and about onefourth the measure of the angle measured with
a 40-wedge protractor. However, the numbers
might not be strictly proportional because
measurements always include some error.
Now even though we are using the word
wedges, what do they represent when
measuring angles?

Student 1: Well the wedges could be shapes that we are

measuring
Teacher: Yes they could be shapes, but if they were a
shape, what does the number of wedges mean in terms
of angle
Student 2: Well the number of wedges could be a way to
say how big the shape is?
Teacher: YES! And how big the shape is, what is
another way to say that?
Student 3: Maybe we could say that the wedges are
angles that we are measuring?
Teacher: Yes, and how do we measure angles?
Student 4: In degrees!
Teacher: Ok yes exactly, so though these wedges arent
actually degrees we are practicing how we would
measure an angle, which we will do later on.

After the teacher explains the various wedges

and how they work, and provides a
demonstration; they should step back and allow
the students to work individually with their
created protractors to find the solutions to the
first work sheet. During this time the teacher
should walk around the room asking probing
questions to the students and be available to
assist when students have issues in in
understanding.
After, a discussion should take place about the
protractors in which you again reiterate the
pattern and look for children to explain their
understanding of what is happening the teacher
can hand out the next worksheet. This next
worksheet will have various models of angles
and will give directions explaining which
protractor to use. Little explanation should be
given, but one demonstration on the most
precise protractor that the students made, of
how to solve for the specific degree. The
students will be able to work in partners or
small groups of three students to solve these
problems The main goal is to have students
understand how to properly use a protractor
and the importance of measuring angles to a
degree not just eye-balling them.
At the end of the worksheet, if there is a extra
time, you can bring out a normal plastic
protractor and have a student volunteer to try
and solve for an angle.

Teacher: Can a student please volunteer to come up and

use this plain old protractor I found at Wal-Mart? And
can you explain to us how you think you use it based off
of the protractors we created?
Student 1: So I looked at the bigger numbers on the
protractor, like the wedges and looked to see which
wedge it was closest to, and then I looked at the smaller
numbers to see where it lined up
Teacher: Ok yes, so where it lined up, is that number the
angle, or the amount of wedges, how would we use that
in a sentence?
Student 1: the angle measures 25 degrees.

Probing questions to ask during individual and

group work:
If you are not sure you or they know what they

Explain to me how you are using the protractor to find

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are doing.

the degree or number of wedges?

If a student is not finding the correct answers

Why dont you work with a partner and see if you all got
the same answers? If not how about you both discuss
how you solved for the answer and see if you can come
up with one correct concise answer.

Students who still dont know how to begin.

What have you done so far? Ok, so you understand the

larger wedges but are not sure how to go about fining
the next wedges that are smaller. Well lets look back
and see if you can explain to me what you did for the
measurement of the larger wedges to understand how to
solve for the smaller ones.

AFTER
When students have solved the problems on
the worksheets and each member of their group
(of two or three) can explain it, the class as a
whole will go over both worksheets. The
teacher will ask the students to provide the
answers and to demonstrate (by coming up to
the document camera) how the solved for their
answer. The students will individually adjust
their answers with a colored pencil. This will
allow the teacher to collect the work and see
both what the student did originally and if they
were able to adjust their work to get the correct
answer.

Teacher: Ok for question two who would like to show us

how they solved for the angle?
Student: I took my protractor and lined it up with the
straight part of the angle, and then I started looking at
wedges and jumping to each big number. Then I looked
at the smaller numbers where the other line was
pointing. Once I could see the angle line up with the
exact degree on my protractor I knew the angle was 87
degrees.
Teacher: Ok very well, now class, that angle looks like a
right angle correct? Doesnt this go to show you that
measuring the angles is a much more precise and correct
way to figure out whether the angle is obtuse, acute, or
right?

MODIFICATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

CHALLENGE Problem: If a group finishes before others, I will have a challenge worksheet prepared with
difficult angles and exploratory questions that would expand on the lesson. An example would be: If you had to
explain protractors to another student, how would you explain how to use one? I will also challenge the students
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who have completed and understand measurements with protractors to help students who are not understanding
the topic. This team work will allow students who understand, to solidify their explanations by having to teach a
peer, while also making the student who is struggling feel more comfortable to ask questions because the team
player is not an authority figure.

REMEDIAL Problem: For students who struggle with the problems and understanding how to properly use a
protractor, I will have models already created that will provide examples for them. I also plan to make a
protractor that is connected to various wedges in order to show students how to move the protractor and identify
the angles. Because this topic will be expanded slowly, and with increasing difficulty of more precise degrees,
the students should be able to stop me and ask questions if they do not understand the step we are on.