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Reasoning and proof in the classroom: What's your angle, Pythagoras? A math
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Article · January 2011

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 Reasoning and Proof in the Classroom: What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras?,

Starbursts®, and the Pythagorean Theorem

Written by Dr. Stacy K. Keller

Published in:

Keller, S. K. (2011). Reasoning and proof in the classroom: What's your angle,
Pythagoras? A math adventure. Dimensions in Mathematics, 30(2), 21-25.

Elementary mathematics methods courses play a crucial role in determining how

effective teacher candidates will be in the classroom. The standards that guide state curriculum

and instruction choices also play a large role in university methods settings. For example, the

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Process Standard, Reasoning and Proof

(2000), can encourage pre-service teacher candidates to better understand an important

classroom need. Specifically, at the intermediate elementary level, third through fifth grade

students should begin involving themselves in experiences that allow them to experience

mathematical ideas substantiated and away from relying solely on their teacher for conceptual

guidance and understanding. According to NCTM, this is an important transition in supporting

students’ mathematical reasoning. Our teacher candidates may have experienced this very

occurrence in their own elementary schooling; distinctively, too many incidents of simply

accepting the explanation of a concept from their teacher and too few opportunities to be

involved in hands-on, concept driven mathematics lessons. Although this may have been the

norm, a new focus can help teacher candidates better understand reform-based mathematics

instruction. Selecting mathematics methods activities that will help guide teacher candidates’

practice in their future classrooms is fundamental. The Book of the Week activity described in
this article can help reduce mathematics anxiety, support conceptual learning, and exemplify

what reform-based practice in mathematics looks like.

Using literature for reasoning and proof of mathematical thinking

Seventeen pre-service teacher candidates in the methods course, How Children Learn

Mathematics, prepared for the Book of the Week lesson by clearing their tables. Two teacher

candidates, Shawna and Beth, stood in front of their peers anxiously waiting to teach their lesson.

Shawna began by addressing the group, “Okay, fifth graders (giggles from the candidates

assuming their diminutive-aged roles), today we are going to listen to a piece of children’s

literature titled, What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras? A Math Adventure, written by Julie Ellis and

illustrated by Phyllis Hornung (2004). Next, in cooperative learning groups, we are going to

create right triangles using ropes with equally spaced knots. Then, we will use Starbursts® candy

to explore the Pythagorean Theorem by creating squares on each side of the triangle. Please

don’t eat the manipulatives until after we’ve finished the lesson.” Again, giggles sprinkled the

room.

Beth, standing in front of the document camera, began reading the book while the

illustrations lit up the screen. All eyes focused on the front of the room as the story unfolded.

Pythagoras, an in-the-way but curious boy, watched two workmen struggle with a problem of a

twelve-feet ladder unfit to allow passage to the top of a twelve-feet tall roof. Within the

conversation that Pythagoras was listening to, it became apparent that the ladder was not the only

thing plaguing the men. Certain porch columns were proving to be an architectural issue, too.

These mathematical problems led Pythagoras to ponder some mathematical questions.

 Back at home, his father shared his dilemma of losing customers due to the confines of

having to travel an extra distance in order to safely arrive at Crete. Pythagoras did not understand

why his father could not set sail directly towards his destination. His father explained that

traveling straight to Crete would be dangerous. Simply, his father did not know the exact

distance. This particular problem set the context of the Pythagorean Theorem’s significance.

(Even though the story is fictional, students began to see the benefit and use of mathematics in

everyday life now and in long-ago Greece.)

Pythagoras and his father sailed to Alexandria and met Nef, a man who had built the

lighthouse that Pythagoras marveled at while docking their boat. Pythagoras asked the builder

how he got the base of the lighthouse so straight, making a connection to the workmen back

home who struggled with crooked porch columns. Nef shared his family secret. A knotted rope

that enabled him to create square angles was shown and referred to as a “right triangle.”

Back in the methods classroom

At this point in the story, Beth stopped reading, and Shawna instructed the teacher

candidates to use the knotted ropes on their tables to create right triangles (i.e., a triangle having

one 90˚ angle). Looking around the room, students seemed able to easily accomplish the task.

Suggestions at tables included, “Just use the example that Pythagoras used,” and “Put three units

(length between knots) on one leg, four units on another (leg), and five units on the third

(hypotenuse).” (photo available) The two presenters circled the room to formatively assess their

students. It was interesting to see the class satisfied and confident, particularly students timid

with the geometry topic in the beginning of the semester. The illustrations in the book made the

examples easy to understand since students could count the physical knots (concrete example) on
the triangle sides to know which sides were equal instead of a numerical measurement, a

typically-used abstract example. After seeing the same success at each table, Beth continued the

story.

The setting changed to the house Nef was building and Pythagoras was told to guard

square tiles while Nef and his dad went back to get another load. Pythagoras noticed a stone base

in a nearby courtyard that just happened to be in the shape of a right triangle. Using the square

tiles he had been told to watch, he put them around the stone base.

Stopping the story again, candidates in class were instructed to create a display like

Pythagoras’ using the correct color and number of Starbursts®. (photo available) Along the

edges of the knotted rope triangles, students created squares with the dimensions 3x3, 4x4, and

5x5 to align with the respective sides (see fig. 1). One of the teacher candidates in the room used

nine yellow Starbursts® on the side measuring 3 units (length between knots) (triangle leg), sixteen

pink Starbursts® on the side measuring 4 units (triangle leg), and a combination of twenty-five

yellow and pink Starbursts® on the side (hypotenuse) measuring 5 units. Across the room,

“oohs” and “ahhs” were heard when it became clear that combining the nine Starbursts® and

sixteen Starbursts® from the respective squares made from the two triangle legs equaled the

number of Starbursts® of the square made using the hypotenuse (see fig. 1). This moment of

understanding was felt as teacher candidates smiled to one another and expressed enthusiasm.

One teacher candidate admitted, “I never understood the Pythagorean Theorem in middle or high

school. If only my teachers had used knotted ropes and colored squares to make it clear, I would

have had an easier time understanding this theorem. I can’t believe it.” Many agreed.

Beth finished reading the story and received a round of applause from an audience who

appreciated the tactile support and children’s book used to support understanding an often
misunderstood concept. Comments were shared as the class processed the lesson. “It’s not hard

to choose a children’s book to help students engage with the mathematics you are trying to teach.

If we can hook them with the story, maybe we can help assuage the potential anxiety that comes

from learning new mathematics concepts.” Another candidate added, “I had to see it in front of

me. All my life, I used the memorized (Pythagorean) theorem to convince myself that I really

understood it when in fact, I didn’t.” As the group enjoyed eating the Starbursts®, it was evident

how participating in this activity had allowed a deeper understanding of both a geometric

concept and more importantly, what teaching for understanding could look like in the elementary

classroom.

Connection to the methods classroom

This was the third semester I had used the Book of the Week activity with pre-service

teacher candidates to connect incorporating children’s literature into a mathematics lesson. This

particular presentation was among the best I had seen and clearly demonstrated what it looked

like for students to actively experience the NCTM Process Standard of Reasoning and Proof

(2000). Knowing what active mathematics engagement and exploration looked like through the

use of children’s literature, hands-on exploration, and concept driven instruction benefited two

groups of learners—both the teacher candidates in the room and their future students.

According to Burns (2010), there is great power in using a piece of children’s literature in

a mathematic lesson. The story itself can easily spark a child’s mathematical imagination.

Students who may have struggled with mathematics in the past can have an opportunity to

experience the wonder of mathematics in the present through a story. Students who are more

confident in mathematics can look at a story differently through the lens of a mathematics plot or
storyline. And finally, all educators can be influenced by using a children’s book in a

mathematics lesson by building on an existing confidence in reading and language arts, usually a

more uncomfortable territory for elementary teachers and as a result, bridging a connection to the

mathematics field.

We must be aware of teacher discomfort in the elementary mathematics classroom. One

study found that just 7% of students enjoyed mathematics (Jackson and Leffingwell 1999). The

other participants were asked when their mathematics anxiety began. Three main categories

emerged: elementary school (grades 3 & 4), high school, and college. Participants who stated

that elementary school was the beginning of their math anxiety cited specific factors: difficult

material, hostile teacher behavior, gender bias, and a perception of the teacher as insensitive and

uncaring.

The elementary mathematics methods classroom is the place to model and experience the

kinds of instructional methods we expect all classroom teachers to use. Waiting until teacher

candidates are inside the classroom with slim support is ineffective and costly. Instead of

waiting, elementary mathematics methods instructors need to provide classroom assignments

that allow for robust possibilities. Possibilities for modeling what it looks like to work

collectively in the classroom in order to understand the mathematics being taught, possibilities of

using literature to bond learners with supportive narratives that can lead to greater engagement,

and possibilities of encouraging hands-on, tactile experiences that allow students to actually see

the mathematics being taught. These considerations are essential in this age of reform.
REFERENCES

Burns, Marilyn. “As easy as Pi: Picture books are perfect for teaching math.” School Library

Journal 56, no. 5, (2010): 38-41.

Ellis, Julie, and Hornung, Phyllis. What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras? A Math Adventure.

Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Publishing, 2004.

Jackson, Carol D., & Leffingwell, R. Jon . “The role of instructors in creating math anxiety in

students from Kindergarten through college.” Mathematics Teacher 92 no. 7, (1999):

583-586.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). Principles and Standards for School

Mathematics. Reston, VA: NCTM, 2000.

Teacher candidates create right triangles (i.e., a triangle having one 90˚ angle) using knotted ropes. This
example shows a right triangle with knot dimensions of 3 units (length between knots) and 4 units on the
triangle legs and 5 units on the triangle hypotenuse.

Along the edges of the knotted rope triangles, candidates create squares with the dimensions 3x3, 4x4,
and 5x5 to align with the respective triangle sides. One of the teacher candidates in the room used nine
yellow Starbursts® on the side measuring 3 units (length between knots), sixteen pink Starbursts® on the
side measuring 4 units, and a combination of twenty-five yellow and pink Starbursts® on the side
(hypotenuse) measuring 5 units.
Teacher candidates work to reason and prove that the combination of Starbursts® in the squares on the
two triangle legs equal the number of Starbursts® in the square of the triangle’s hypotenuse.
 The figure shows three squares using the lengths of the two legs and one hypotenuse
of the right triangle. Using the algorithm for finding the areas of the triangles
Figure 1

(base x height or a2, b2, and c2 in our example), this figure illustrates
the Pythagorean Theorem (i.e., if you take the squares of two sides
of a right triangle and add them together, that sum will equal the square of the
hypotenuse (9 un2 + 16 un2 = 25un2).

c = 5 units

Area of square = c2
a = 3 units (5un x 5un = 25un2)
Area of
square = a2
a = 3 units (3un x 3un
= 9un2) c = 5 units

Area of
square = b2
(4un x 4un =
b= 4 units 16un2)

b= 4 units

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