Session 5 - Similarity, Right Triangles, and Trigonometry

Similarity, Right Triangles, and Trigonometry - Grade Band: High School.

Step 5

Post-Lesson Knowledge Check! (10 minutes):

What did the student learn?

Post-Lesson Knowledge Check Task: Discussion

Post-Lesson Knowledge Task: Explain your procedures to solve for unknown heights using similar triangles.

Focus: MP4: Model with mathematics

Directions for Giving the Task:

Ask students to write down (or provide answers orally) their procedures for solving problems of this nature.
Students could give the following responses:
1. draw a picture
2. set up equivalent fractions
3. solve for missing measurements using equivalent fractions
4. multiplying by a factor to eliminate the denominator.
If the students are stuck, the facilitator should ask them to articulate what steps they took to solve the height of a building or the height of a lamp post problem.

Decorative question mark:

Why are students doing this/what are they getting out of it?

If a student can explain their thinking and thought process then they can repeat it. This helps to solidify knowledge and is a good method for note-taking.

Directions for Scoring & Understanding Student Responses

After students do the post-knowledge lesson check, you will want to be reading their responses. When they feel ready to share, look at their answers/responses. Use the suggestions below to help decide if they “got it” or are still struggling with this skill.

Decorative question mark:

Why are students doing this/what are they getting out of it?

Based on the results of the screener you will reteach, practice, or advance to the next skill. This is commonly called differentiation.

You will base your next steps on the results of how well the student has learned the skills from this toolkit.

If a student cannot explain the difference between similarity and congruence, or how to set up proportions, that may indicate that they are still struggling or not completely secure in this skill yet. We recommend that you re-teach this lesson.
If a student explains the following (lacking one step): to look for similar vs congruent shapes, to use similar sides to set up proportions, to use equivalent fractions/cross multiplication to solve for the unknown, that may indicate that they strongly understood this skill and they can move on to the next math skill.
If a student explains how to look for similar vs congruent shapes, to use similar sides to set up proportions, to use equivalent fractions/cross multiplication to solve for the unknown, that may demonstrate that they very strongly mastered this skill and quickly (so they can tell you exactly what it means and how it works or they can teach it to someone else). This means they are ready for a more challenging skill - such as the real-world application suggestions included in this toolkit.