Instructor: Mr.

Knight EDUC 450/486 Wesley Pace

Lesson Plan: Chapter 5—Sections 2 & 3

Lesson Title: Congruent Figures and the Side-Angle-Side Congruence Theorem
Lesson Date: October/07/2020
Teacher: Mr. Wesley Pace [matchup teachers Mr. Austin Kolm & Mr. Bryan Eisele].
Grade(s): 10/11
Content Area: Mathematics (Geometry)
Title: Congruent Figures and the Side-Angle-Side Congruence Theorem
Lesson #2

Lesson Topic and Rational/Relevance: The basis for many geometrical proofs depends on a grounded
understanding of congruent shapes/figures; especially, familiarity with how rigid transformations can be used to
show congruence. This lesson will focus on the importance of congruent shapes (mostly, triangles) and their proper
labeling. Shape congruence depends on corresponding angles and sides—that is, the label-ordering of vertices
determines which parts of geometrical figures are indeed congruent. Understanding these ideas will help learners
better understand symmetries, shape-mapping, and essential proof techniques. Additionally, shape congruence plays
an important role in understanding other fields of study (e.g., biology, chemistry, physics).

The objective of this lesson is to teach students how to recognize congruent polygons from representations & labels
and understand that congruent figures have congruent corresponding parts. Furthermore, students will learn the first
triangle congruence theorem—called Side-Angle-Side Congruence Theorem. This will include an introduction to
two-column geometric proofs.

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Content Standards addressed by this lesson:

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSG.CO.B.7: Use the definition of congruence in terms of rigid motions to show that
two triangles are congruent if and only if corresponding pairs of sides and corresponding pairs of angles are
congruent.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSG.CO.B.8: Explain how the criteria for triangle congruence (ASA, Side-Angle-
Side, and SSS) follow from the definition of congruence in terms of rigid motions.

Academic Context and Connections (Math Practices):

Teaching Practices Highlighted in Lesson:

1.) Establish mathematics goals to focus learning.
2.) Implement tasks that promote reasoning and problem solving.
3.) Use and connect mathematical representations.
5.) Pose purposeful questions.
7.) Support productive struggle in learning mathematics.

Student Learning:
(MP1) Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them: Students use prior geometry knowledge to
understand and solve problems involving congruent shapes and congruence theorems.
(MP3) Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others: Learners will learn how to use
definitions and postulates to build logical arguments (basic congruence proofs).
(MP8) Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning: Students will develop a better understanding of
how the ideas of congruence are relevant to all plane figures.

Inquiry Questions: (Essential questions relating knowledge at end of the unit of instruction, select applicable
questions from standard)

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Instructor: Mr. Knight EDUC 450/486 Wesley Pace

• What properties determine whether a plane figure is congruent?

▪ Given that two plane figures are congruent, what does this tell us about the angles and sides of the figures?
▪ What importance does the role of labeling play when we are examining congruent plane figures? For
example, if ΔABC is congruent to ΔDEF, then what do we know about the two triangles without even
needing to look at their shapes?
▪ Which types of transformation can be used to show that two or more shapes are congruent? What are they?
Why can these transformations lead us to a conclusion of congruent figures (Hint: What stays the same)?
▪ The Third Angle Theorem tells us that if two corresponding angles of two triangles have the same angle
measure, then their third angles must be congruent. How does this help us determine whether triangles are
congruent?
▪ State the Side-Angle-Side Triangle Congruence Theorem. What special feature of the angles is important
for this theorem to be true?
▪ Give some examples where you have encountered triangles in the real-world. How might we use the SAS
and Third Angle Theorem in these situations?
▪ How can transformations be used to prove that two triangles are congruent? (in this case just SAS)
▪ What is the minimum amount of information you need to know about two triangles in order to determine if
they are congruent? Why is that the minimum?
▪ What is your biggest take away from the lesson? Why?

Evidence Outcomes: (Learning Targets) and (Success Criteria)

▪ Learning Targets: To identify congruent plane figures, understand the importance polygons labeling, and
be able to use the Third Angle and the Side-Angle-Side theorems to show congruence of triangles or their
angles.
▪ I can recognize congruent figures and their corresponding parts.
▪ I can use the Side-Angle-Side Congruence Theorem and apply it to real world situations.

▪ This means that learners will walk away from this lesson understanding what it means for plane figures to
be congruent, how to use the Third Angle Theorem to determine the third angle of triangles sharing two
congruent corresponding angles, and how to apply the Side-Angle-Side Congruence Theorem to prove that
two (or more) triangles are congruent.

Relevant CDE outcomes:

1. Show that two triangles are congruent by matching up their three pairs of corresponding sides and three
pairs of corresponding angles.
2. Explain how every triangle with the same three length sides is congruent, but the same is not true for every
triangle with the same three angles.

Assessments:

1. My approach to keep learners involved will be to ask questions that involve reasoning and deduction. To
make sure that students are participating I intend to require at least two to three responses per question
before moving on to new examples/material. (Formative)
2. This lesson includes a five question Google Form Quiz that counts toward students’ homework grades:
Google Form Quiz (Formative)

Planned Lesson Activities

Lesson Title & Purpose Congruent Figures & The Side-Angle Side Congruence
Theorem—Teach Congruence and Triangle Theorems
Time/Materials ▪ Time: 40 minutes of interactive direct-based
instruction

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Instructor: Mr. Knight EDUC 450/486 Wesley Pace

▪ 20 minutes of dot-cam modeling

▪ 37 minutes for student worktime
▪ Computer & Internet access
▪ Big Ideas Geometry Workbook
▪ Big Ideas Geometry Text

Anticipatory Set ▪ Playing off students’ early understanding of

congruence taught by Mr. Kolm the lesson
prior to this one, I will be building a more in-
depth framework for what congruence means.
Especially an understanding for the
importance of polygon labels.
▪ The lesson will be directly taught, and
students will learn the basics of two column
proofs using the SAS Congruence Theorem.

Student Engagement Strategies ▪ PowerPoint Activities (see slides below)

▪ Dot-cam exercises to give students a feel for
how they might approach proving triangles are
congruent using the S-A-S Theorem.
▪ Student worktime where I and Mr. Kolm will
be available for Q&A.
▪ A Google Form Quiz assessment.
Lesson Procedure TEACHER ACTIONS:
• For the first 45 minutes of class I will be
teaching students new material. The format
will include direct instruction with built in
time for students to try exercises on their own.
The order of exercises with include: 1.) A
review of congruence, 2.) Polygon labeling,
3.) The Third Angle Theorem, 4.) The Side-
Angle-Side Congruence Theorem, 5.) A short
introduction to proofs, 6.) Dot-cam exercises,
7.) Student support.
STUDENT ACTIONS:
▪ Students will be remotely participating in a
teacher-do student-do instruction for 45
minutes. That is, learners will be expected to
participate and contribute to the class
discussion.
▪ Students will observe and participate in dot-
cam exercises.
▪ Students will be given 30-40 minutes to work
on assignments and/or ask questions.
Student Engagement ▪ Taking advice from my mentor teacher, I will
be incorporating wait time to a much larger
degree into this lesson.
▪ To encourage dialogue, I will enforce the
policy that at least two (different) students
must respond to questions (I.e., either in the
chat box or via audio). This should increase
student engagement.
▪ Doing exercises on the dot-cam should help
students see how they might approach proofs
on their own.

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Instructor: Mr. Knight EDUC 450/486 Wesley Pace

▪ I will be available to answer questions for the

last half-hour of class.
Closure ▪ Complete the lesson with an introduction to
proofs. I will cover the basics of two-column
proofs (i.e., statements and supportive
reasons) by modeling an example that uses the
Side-Angle-Side Congruence Theorem.
▪ Model three workbook exercises from Big
Ideas on the dot-cam.
▪ Support students during the last half-hour of
class (i.e., worktime).
End of Lesson Engagement ▪ I will follow Mr. Kolm’s procedure of
allowing the last 30-40 minutes of class for
student worktime.
▪ Make sure to remind students that the Google
Form Quiz is due by the end of the day.
Differentiation ▪ A variety of problems will be given that vary
in difficulty.
▪ Participation will be highly recommended so
that I have a better perspective on the learning
engagement.
▪ After direct instruction I will be available to
help any struggling/curious students out.
Assessment Reflection ▪ I will be using a Google Form Quiz to assess
student understanding. This is based on Mr.
Kolm’s classroom procedures (See reflection
below).
▪ Q1: Assesses whether students know the
general geometrical definition of congruence.
▪ Q2: Assesses whether students understand
how polygons are labeled.
▪ Q3: Determine whether students understand
what types of triangles can be proven
congruent using the SAS Theorem.
▪ Q4: Looks for evidence that students
understand what the Third Angle Theorem is.
▪ Q5: Assesses whether students see that two
triangles can be proven congruent given a
certain set of assumptions (in lesson picture).

Students will be assessed by their participation and

answers to relevant lesson questions. The lesson pace
will be determined by how robust class discussion is.

PowerPoint Lesson Slides: This lesson was taught using the Promethean board, which allowed me to model
exercises in real-time (see the annotated notes below the PPT for lesson substance).

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Instructor: Mr. Knight EDUC 450/486 Wesley Pace

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Lesson Notes & Examples:

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Instructor: Mr. Knight EDUC 450/486 Wesley Pace

Post Lesson Reflection:

1. To what extent were lesson objectives achieved? (Utilize assessment data to justify your level of
achievement)

For this lesson I chose to assess student understanding with a GoogleForm (Formative assessment). The
reason for this choice of assessment was because Mr. Kolm assigns learners a Google Form graded activity after
each of his lessons. In addition, Google Forms work well as an assessment tool when teaching remotely (i.e.,
provide the instructor with data at an individual and class level). This assessment included five questions each
valued at one point each. Each question was tailored to correlate to the material taught in the lesson: 1.) Definition
of Congruence; 2.) Determining congruent parts of a plane figure, given their labels; 3.) Graphical representation of
SAS Theorem; 4.) Third Angles Theorem; 5.) Side-Angle-Side Theorem proof question. Class results are shown in
the following table.

Question Number/Type Correct Incorrect Percent Correct

1 Congruence Def. 12 14 46.2%
2 Polygon Labeling 46 28 62.2%
3 SAS Representation 10 16 38.4%
4 Third Angle Theorem 14 12 54%
5 SAS Theorem Proof 19 26 73.1%

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Instructor: Mr. Knight EDUC 450/486 Wesley Pace

Even though more students participated, and the lesson flowed better than the first, the Google Form data
was somewhat disappointing. I take responsibility for writing questions that were a bit too intensive. Though three
of the questions were straight forward, the other two required students to think in the negative, which can always
throw learners off. More, one of the questions required students to get three parts right in order to receive full credit.
I would certainly change this. That said, I am satisfied to see that many of the students got two or three of the
questions correct.

2. What changes, omissions, or additions to the lesson would you make if you were to teach again?

It is difficult teaching remotely, especially at the high school level, because instructors are not privy to facial/body
language cues given by learners. To overcome this deficit, I insisted that at least two students (and not always the
same two) responded to the questions I posed. To make this lesson more engaging I would I have liked to have done
the dot-cam exercises because this would have given the learners a flavor for how to approach problems on their
own (i.e., decided not to do the dot-cam exercises because it would have eaten away at the allotted student practice
time). Additionally, I would like to have come up with an online activity that would require students to work with
one another virtually. I am still brainstorming ideas to make this happen (e.g., AVID breakout rooms, Kahoot!
Game, etc.). Lastly, I would have made sure that the Google Form Quiz had less involved questions. This would
have allowed me to make sure students were fully understanding the basics.

Mentor Teacher’s Evaluation (Mr. Kolm):

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Instructor: Mr. Knight EDUC 450/486 Wesley Pace

3. What do you envision for the next lesson? (Continued practice, reteach content, etc.)
For the next lesson(s) that I teach I desire to be more creative in the ways that I reach the learners. I have
been able to observe/participate in engaging activities that Mr. Kolm has taught his learners over the last couple
weeks (e.g., a whodunit where students had to solve math problems in order to earn clues about the mystery, a
scavenger hunt activity that required learners to use their trigonometric skills find clues around the school using a
compass & map, etc.). In my MATH 425 (History of Mathematics) I have been given the opportunity to design high
school lessons using a creative approach. I made a “Candyland”-type game lesson involving historical
mathematicians. In the future I hope to bring some of this ingenuity to my lessons. The result, I imagine, will be
more engagement in the learning process.
Lastly, I would like to go over the Google Form Quiz from this lesson so that students understood where
they made mistakes. I always appreciate a teacher that takes time to go over test/quiz material. Many times, students
struggle with the same content-area.

Lesson Discussion with Mentor (takeaways):

• During this lesson I worked on using wait time to advance the lesson at a healthy, unrushed pace. This was Mr.
Kolm’s suggestion from my previous lesson, and it worked to the advantage of the learning process.
• Additionally, Mr. Kolm discussed using language that was relatable and understandable to the students. Taking
this into consideration, I was able to put the lesson concepts into terms recognizable to the learners.
• Mr. Kolm expressed that this lesson went much better than the prior lesson. He pointed out that there were
more student responses, that I allowed students more time to productively struggle with the concepts, and that I
was able to clear up student misconceptions.
• At one point in the lesson Mr. Kolm noticed that I did not go over the important aspects of labeling polygons. He
was happy to see that this objective was thoroughly covered on the next slide.

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Instructor: Mr. Knight EDUC 450/486 Wesley Pace

• Unfortunately, there was not enough time for me to model workbook problems on the dot-cam (see in class
examples above).
• Mr. Kolm has kindly agreed to take me on as an understudy next semester. I look forward to having the
opportunity to grow both as a student teacher and a person. +

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