Similarity and Congruence of Triangles and Quadrilaterals

Author: Ruth Ingerly Revision Date of Lesson Plan: 4-19-11 Overall Goal for the Lesson: The students will apply the properties of similar triangles, similar quadrilaterals and congruent triangles to solve problems and also determine unknown values by using these properties. Description of classroom, grade level, and students: It will be a math classroom of 9th and 10th graders who have discussed the concepts of similarity and congruence and have used deductive proofs to prove the properties of similar and congruent triangles to be true. Student Objectives for the lesson. Given two geometric quadrilaterals, SWBAT determine unknown values on any given problem using the properties of similarity. Given two geometric triangles students will be able to state whether the shapes are similar, congruent or neither with an accuracy of 8 out of 10 by using properties of similar and congruent triangles. Given two triangles, either similar or congruent, students will be able to determine unknown values on any given problem using the properties of similarity and congruence. Length of Lesson: Two class periods. One day spent on similarity and one say spent on congruence. Schedule of Activities: Day 1: Similarity We have been talking about similarity and congruence. A SMART Notebook lesson has been planned in advance that uses different shapes and tools to talk about Similarity. Teacher will walk students through how you can determine if two triangles are similar through ratios. And then provide a few example on the board for the students to work and figure out.

Students will be interactive in this lesson by answering questions that are prompted by the teacher. Students will then explain to the class how they came to their conclusion and the class will decide if their conclusion is correct or not. Teacher will then introduce the idea or using the properties of similar triangles to find missing information. Prompts students if they have any ideas. Teacher puts an example on the board and asks the students to solve for x. Waits for students to answer. (students must raise hands to answer) A student is chosen who will go to the board and answer the question for the class. (what does the class think? Is the student correct?) What about for other shapes? Do you think that the same method will work in determining similarity? Lets look at quadrilaterals Teacher does similar method with quadrilaterals as with triangles. At the end of the day there will be a short homework assignment that involves finding missing information from similar triangles and determining if triangles are similar (problems from the text or possibly a worksheet) Day 2. Congruence Introduce by asking what is the difference between similar figures and congruent figures. Teacher review the properties of congruent triangles such as SAS or ASA etc with the class. Teacher will then provide some example and ask the students if the figures are congruent and why? Like in the similarity lesson students will be interactive by coming to conclusions on their own and having class discussions on whether they are correct or not. Yesterday when we talked about similarity we talked about using the properties of similarity to solve for an unknown. Do you think that is also possible with congruent figures? Teacher puts an example on the board and asks the students to solve for x. Waits for students to answer. (students must raise hands to answer) A student is chosen who will go to the board and answer the question for the class. (what does the class think? Is the student correct?) At the end of the lecture student are given a more extensive worksheet that combines both similar and congruent figues. A quiz can be given at the end of the week to insure that all students are understanding.

PASS Content Standards Addressed 4. Similarity b. Use ratios of similar 2-dimensional figures to determine unknown values, such as angles, side lengths, perimeter or circumference, and area. 5. Congruence b. Use the relationships of congruency of 2-dimensional figures to determine unknown values, such as angles, side lengths, perimeter or circumference, and area. PASS Instructional Technology Standards Standard 3: The student will demonstrate knowledge of technology productivity tools. 1. Use content-specific tools, software, and simulations (e.g., environmental probes, graphing calculators, exploratory environments, Web tools) to support learning and research. 2. Apply productivity/multimedia tools and peripherals to support personal productivity, group collaboration, and learning throughout the curriculum. Assessments: How will these activities be assessed? Students will be required to participate in class for part of the assessment. At the end of the lesson the students will be given a worksheet that combines similar and congruent figures. Quiz will be given on the properties of congruent triangles (eg. SAS, ASA, AAS, SSS) and similar triangles (proportions of sides and angles.) Accommodations: How might the lesson need to be adapted for students with special needs? If a student has a vision impairment the teacher can provide the student with an enlarged handout of the smart board presentation and activities. Materials Needed: Smart board activity Paper Pencil Worksheets Description and Rationale: This lesson on Symmetry and Congruence address the OK PASS standards 4.b. and 5.b. In this lesson we go over the main ways to tell if a shape (mostly triangles) is similar and/or congruent. The lesson discusses how to use properties of lines and shapes to find information about the length of different sides, the similarity ratio, and the angle measurements of different triangles. This lesson is interactive and allows for students to use their existing knowledge to help them discover for themselves the relationships between similar and congruent triangles.