This lesson plan aims to teach 7th grade math students about the properties of similar figures using scale factors and ratios. Students will complete a warm-up activity and review key concepts from prior lessons. Then they will work through examples on a worksheet applying their understanding of similar figures. To assess learning, students will explain their worksheet answers to the class. The lesson concludes with a summary of how ratios and scale factors are used to determine proportional relationships and similar figures.
1. STEPP Lesson Plan Form
Colorado State University College of Health and Human Sciences Page 1
Teacher: Kelsey Gupton Date: 10-29-14 (of lesson)
School: Boltz Middle School Grade Level: 7 Content Area: math
Title: Properties of Similar Figures Lesson #:_1_ of _1_
Content Standard(s) addressed by this lesson: (Write Content Standards directly from the standard)
Standard: 1. Number Sense, Properties, and Operations
Concepts and skills students master:
1. Proportional reasoning involves comparisons and multiplicative relationships among ratios.
Students can:
a. Analyze proportional relationships…
b. … ratios of fractions … ratios of lengths
c. (i) Determine whether two quantities are in a proportional relationship
Inquiry Questions:
3. How do you know when a proportional relationship exists?
Relevance and Application:
1. The use of ratios, rates, and proportions allows … enlarging and shrinking of copies.
3. Proportional reasoning is used extensively in geometry such as determining properties of similar figures.
Understandings: (Big Ideas)
Scale factors and ratios are used to find proportional relationships of similar figures.
Inquiry Questions: (Essential questions relating knowledge at end of the unit of instruction, select applicable questions from standard)
How are ratios and scale factors used to find proportional relationships?
What are similar figures used for in the real world?
How do you know when a proportional relationship exists?
2. STEPP Lesson Plan Form
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Evidence Outcomes: (Learning Targets)
Every student will be able to: (Create your own lesson objectives from the standard, follow the ABCD format, using student voice)
I can:
Apply my knowledge of the properties of similar figures.
This means:
To be successful I can find the scale factor OR the ratio of corresponding sides to complete the purple worksheet.
List of Assessments: (Write the number of the learning target associated with each assessment)
As an assessment, I will have students show their work on the doc cam of the first page of the purple worksheet. I will have them explain to their peers how they got the similar figures and why.
I will also assess when I am circulating the room by seeing if students are identifying the correct similar figures and have the correct explanations.
*Both of these assessments apply to the learning target as students use scale factors and ratios to find similar figures.
3. STEPP Lesson Plan Form
Colorado State University College of Health and Human Sciences Page 3
Planned Lesson Activities
Name and Purpose of Lesson
Should be a creative title for you and the students to associate with the activity. Think of the purpose as the mini-rationale for what you are trying to accomplish through this lesson.
Name: Applying the Properties of Similar Figures to Geometrical Shapes
Purpose: Students are able to use scale factors, ratios, angles, and same shapes to determine if geometrical shapes are similar.
Approx. Time and Materials
How long do you expect the activity to last and what materials will you need?
I expect the activity to take 30 minutes including me going over the worksheet and 15-20 minutes of group work time.
The students will need a pencil and the purple worksheet for the activity.
Anticipatory Set
The “hook” to grab students’ attention. These are actions and statements by the teacher to relate the experiences of the students to the objectives of the lesson, To put students into a receptive frame of mind.
To focus student attention on the lesson.
To create an organizing framework for the ideas, principles, or information that is to follow (advanced organizers)
An anticipatory set is used any time a different activity or new concept is to be introduced.
My anticipatory set includes a warm up and the learning targets. Students will complete a warm up to get their brain going and focusing on prior knowledge needed before the lesson. Then I will show the learning target to the students and have them write it down so they know what today’s goal is and have this in mind as we move forward.
How do you intend to engage your students in thinking during the Anticipatory Set?
Why are you using it at this point in your lesson?
The strategy I intend to use is Do Now and learning targets.
I am using this strategy here because: a Do Now gets the students focused as they are coming into the classroom and accesses their prior knowledge needed for today’s lesson. The learning target allows them to know their goals and what is expected of them by the end of the lesson.
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Procedures
(Include a play-by-play account of what students and teacher will do from the minute they arrive to the minute they leave your classroom. Indicate the length of each segment of the lesson. List actual minutes.)
Indicate whether each is:
-teacher input
-modeling
-questioning strategies
-guided/unguided:
-whole-class practice
-group practice
-individual practice
-check for understanding
-other
1:00-1:05: Passing period. Students will be coming into the room, pick up a warm up sheet, and take their assigned seats. From there they will get out their appropriate materials they need for the day based on Mrs. Elder’s checklist.
(other)
1:05-1:10: Students will work on the warm up quietly until everyone has the two problems completed.
(individual practice)
1:10-1:18: We will go over the warm up as a class.
Students will share their work with their shoulder partner, and then I will instruct one student to come up to the board and show their work of what they did on the first problem. We will make sure that this is correct and is what everyone did.
For the second problem, I will call on students to help me solve it after they have talked with their shoulder partners. This problem has a harder scale factor making students rely on ratios to solve!
After students have walked me through the problem, I will show the next slide in my PowerPoint that has the answers written out nicely. I will quickly reemphasize these.
(check for understanding)
1:18-1:30: I will show the rest of my PowerPoint as students take notes in their interactive notebooks. The PowerPoint should not be new material, but reinforcement of what they learned the past couple days. Therefore, they should not be too many questions and it should go fairly quickly. If not, we will spend more time on this so that all students understand the properties of similar figures.
(teacher input)
1:30-1:35: Now I will introduce the purple worksheet. I will pass out the worksheet to students and we will begin on the first page.
The first problem is easy, so we will do problem 2 as a class.
I will explain the directions and explain what I am looking for in the explanation section.
(modeling)
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1:35-1:50: Students will work in their cooperative learning groups to try and complete both sides of the worksheet. I will circulate around the room helping students as they need.
It is important that they complete the first side of this worksheet. It is ok if they don’t finish the back side today (it will be assigned as homework if they do not).
(group practice)
1:50-1:58: Once students have completed the worksheet, we will go over it.
To assess how the students did, I will have students bring up their worksheet to the doc cam and explain to the class how they got their answers for the front page.
Depending on how far they get on the worksheet, I will go over more extensively number 5 or number 6 as the summary portion of this lesson.
For number 6, I will ask if the ratios 3:2 and 2:3 are the same. Can two figures that have these ratios be similar? Yes! This is due to rotating an object and how you label your sides.
Then I will bring in my essential questions:
How are ratios and scale factors used to find proportional relationships?
How do you know when a proportional relationship exists?
Both of these questions are answered with the properties of similar figures and are emphasized in numbers 5 and 6 on the worksheet.
I will emphasize that ratios can be used to find similar figures.
I will clear up any misunderstandings.
(check for understanding)
1:58-2:00: At the end of class, depending on how far they get, I will assign homework. Either the students will finish the purple worksheet or I will pass out the pink worksheet and assign the front side as homework.
(individual practice)
*If we finish early, I will have them do more practice by completing the front side of the pink worksheet.
*If we run out of time, I will cut back a little on the time the students have working in groups on the purple worksheet to make sure we have enough time to go over the it as a class as a good summary.
6. STEPP Lesson Plan Form
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How do you intend to engage your students in thinking during the PROCEDURE?
Why are you using it at this point in your lesson?
The strategy I intend to use is group work.
I am using this strategy here because: group work engages students. This forces them to work together and share their thoughts. It also allows them to ask each other questions and clarify their thinking. Students are responsible for their work as well as their peers.
Closure
Those actions or statements by a teacher that are designed to bring a lesson presentation to an appropriate conclusion. Used to help students bring things together in their own minds, to make sense out of what has just been taught. “Any Questions? No. OK, let’s move on” is not closure. Closure is used:
To cue students to the fact that they have arrived at an important point in the lesson or the end of a lesson.
To help organize student learning
To help form a coherent picture and to consolidate.
Closure will include going over the purple worksheet, and furthermore going over number 5 or 6 extensively. This will also be used as a summary and bringing in all the things that we have learned today.
I will bring back the essential questions:
How are ratios and scale factors used to find proportional relationships?
How do you know when a proportional relationship exists?
Both of these are answered in numbers 5 and 6.
How do you intend to engage your students in thinking during CLOSURE?
Why are you using it at this point in your lesson?
The strategy I intend to use is summary ______
I am using this strategy here because: summaries reinforce students’ learning and the knowledge that they have accumulated that day. I will ask for their participation by asking them to come show their work instead of showing the answers to them first.
Differentiation
To modify: If the activity is too advanced for a child, how will you modify it so that they can be successful?
To extend: If the activity is too easy for a child, how will you extend it to develop their emerging skills?
To modify this activity, I will have students only complete a part of each question on the purple worksheet.
To extend this activity, I will have higher students explain their answers to those that are confused so that they are staying engaged and reinforcing their knowledge. If they have already done this, I will give them the pink worksheet to begin working on.
7. STEPP Lesson Plan Form
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Assessment
How will you know if students met the learning targets? Write a description of what you were looking for in each assessment.
I will know that my students have met the learning targets as they explain their answers on the doc cam to the class.
Also, as they are working with their groups and I am circulating, I can constantly assess by seeing if they are getting the correct answers and explanations.
I am looking to see if the students have picked the shapes that are similar and for correct descriptions of why those shapes are similar. This should include the properties of similar figures.
8. STEPP Lesson Plan Form
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Post Lesson Reflection
1. To what extent were lesson objectives achieved? (Utilize assessment data to justify your level of achievement)
The lesson objectives were achieved! Looking at the learning target, for students to be successful they can find the scale factor OR the ratio of corresponding sides to complete the purple worksheet. At the end of the class, students were able to use their knowledge learned about the properties of similar figures and they completed the purple worksheet.
2. What changes, omissions, or additions to the lesson would you make if you were to teach again?
If I were to teach this lesson again, I would change the lecture part of my lesson to be more interactive. I would ask more questions so that they could come to the knowledge that rotations and reflections were okay to do to similar figures. I would have them come up and do the examples for each property instead of just providing the examples.
3. What do you envision for the next lesson? (Continued practice, reteach content, etc.)
I envision that my next lesson would include some review and going over their homework that was similar to the purple worksheet. Also, my next lesson would be a continuation of applying the properties of similar figures to real life examples. This could include a lesson about measuring shadows and heights of objects and relating them to similar figures.