OER Fellowship Project: City planning with parallel lines

Description

This project introduces students to parallel lines and angles through videos, practice exercises, simulations, hands-on activities, and student presentations.

Learning Goals

1.Students will demonstrate their knowledge of parallel lines with a transversal.

2.Students will show when angles are congruent or supplementary given parallel lines and a transversal.

3.Students will model slope with a 3-Dimensional building.

Depth of Knowledge

Describe the depth, rigor, mastery of skills

Are learners engaged to think critically and solve complex problems? Reason abstractly? Work collaboratively? Learn how to learn? Communicate effectively? Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others? Apply discrete knowledge and skills to real-world situations? Construct, use, or analyze models?

 

SEC Standards

Student Levels & Needs

8th grade

Teacher Preparation

The following teaching strategies will be used:

Kinesthetic learning: Students will use their bodies to show different angles

Yes, And problem solving: Students will encourage each other while problem solving by saying "yes, and..."

Technological interactivity: Students will interact with various videos and simulations to review and practice mathematical concepts.

Hands-on project based learning: Students will design their very own city using parallel, transversals and special angles

Materials Needed

computers or tablets to explore the videos and simulations

graphing paper

cardboard and modeling / prototyping materials to build cities

Time Needed

Three 50 minute class periods to:

1. Introduce, practice and explore simulations

2. Hands-on project

3. Project showcase and presentation

Project Lessons & Activities


Introduction:

Lines and Angles: images, text and videos that introduce angles and parallel lines. 


Angles


Practice exercises:

Finding Equations of Parallel and Perpendicular Lines: to help assess how well students are able to understand the relationship between the slopes of parallel and perpendicular lines and, in particular, to help identify students who find it difficult to:

  • Find, from their equations, lines that are parallel and perpendicular.
  • Identify and use intercepts.

It also aims to encourage discussion on some common misconceptions about equations of lines.

Fun with Angles: to visualize the different angles (corresponding, alternate interior, and same-side interior) when coplanar lines are cut by a transversal.

Simulations:

Transversal of parallel lines simulation 

Hands-on project:

Warm up activity: Explore the google map of Doha here: http://goo.gl/maps/84NkQ and identify the parallel, transversals and special angles of the streets. Print out a section of Doha with parallel lines and transversals and measure the special angles. Document the parallel lines, transversals and special angles by highlighting them on the map and writing down the angle measurements. The Angle Game video below will support students in finding and measuring angles.


The Angle Game

Project: Students design their own city using parallel, transversals and special angles.

Download: Parallel Lines Project


Extension:

Students build a 3-Dimensional building for their city using slope.

Simulation:

Slope and equations of lines through points: to practice determining equations of lines given a pair of points, or the line parallel or perpendicular to a given line through a given point. This Demonstration, along with guiding worksheets or a teacher presentation, gives students a chance to see the relationships between these lines and points. 

Warm up activity: Access Ramp: How steep can a ramp be?


Parallel Lines Project Showcase & Student Presentations:



Vocabulary

Parallel lines: two or more lines that lie in the same plane and never intersect.

Transversal: a line that intersects two distinct lines. These two lines may or may not be parallel

Slope: a number that describes both the direction and the steepness of the line.

Assessment

Expressions and Equations: this sequence of tasks ask students to demonstrate and effectively communicate their 

mathematical understanding of ratios and proportional relationships, with a focus on expressions and equations.

Student Work

Upload images, documents, pdfs, and/or videos that show examples of student work

Student Data

Classroom observations and examples of student progress and motivation

Additional Resources

List, upload and link to other resources to support the use of this project in the classroom, and include possible extenstions.

 

Return to top