I had just two 80-minute lessons and their homeworks to help my students learn about the circle theorems. So I put together this choice board for them (here’s a file for you). I had a (not very great) powerpoint with an overview of the circle theorems that they would use as a resource; you could also use a text-based resource or a video.
I told students about the first theorem, then said they were going to learn about the rest of them. They had to choose a line of three items to demonstrate their learning, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. They could work individually or in a pair.
It seems that my students preferred the diagonal line from bottom left to top right, since many pairs picked those three items.
The treasure hunt is an activity in the pod outside my classroom with questions and answers scattered around that they have to find and follow in order. (It’s a paid-for item that my school has purchased from Mathsloops.)
The sorting cards are a collection of diagrams that need to be sorted according to which circle theorem applies, then the missing angles calculated. (Embarrassingly I can longer find the file from which I made them years ago. Here’s a card sorting activity I found online that’s a bit different but would work well here.)
I had two great posters made by students and even had one short story. Two groups made games and one student tried a comic. Read the short story below!
The Life of a Circle
Once upon a time, in a land far away (called England) there lived a circle. This circle’s name was Kevin, his life was endless (pun intended) but his life was not as exciting as he wanted it to be. One day, when Kevin was rolling along the road he didn’t realize that there was a slope in his way. He started rolling down the hill very fast and couldn’t stop himself. “CRASH!!!” When Kevin looked up after recovering from his dizziness, he was amazed by the figure standing in front of him. He looked up to find that a beautiful tangent had stopped him from crashing into the brick wall just meters away from them. He finally spoke, asking her who she was. She replied kindly and softly saying, “My name is Tangentina Tangent, how about you?” Quickly, Kevin pulled himself together and gathered the words to tell her that his name was Kevin Circle and thanked her for saving his life. They both looked down nervously and realized that they had met at a 90° angle. Tangentine said, “You know, it’s a well known fact that circles and tangents become the very best of friends because they meet at a 90° angle. I think that this could be the start of a very very very long and wonderful friendship.” Kevin said, “Tangentina, I am very pleased to meet you but, you have to get your facts straight, it’s tangents and radii not circles. But yes, I am excited a the thought of having a new friend.” Tangentina smiled and took Kevin’s hand and they rolled and bounced off into the sunset.
THE END
(They live happily ever after)
I’m contributing this post to #made4math, a way for maths teachers to share projects in the classroom. It’s hosted by the blog Teaching Statistics.
Do you have a differentiation activity you like?