Samantha Wolfer

Title of Unit
Curriculum Area
Developed By

Looking for Pythagoras

Algebra
Connected Mathematics (CMP3)

Grade Level
Time Frame

8
13 days

Identify Desired Results (Stage 1)

Content Standards
Common Core State Standards Addressed:
8.NS.A.2 Use rational approximations of irrational numbers to compare the size of irrational numbers, locate them approximately on a
number line diagram, and estimate the values of the expressions.
8.EE.A.2 Use square root and cube root symbols to represent solutions to equations of the form x2 = p and x3 = p, where p is a positive
rational number. Evaluate square roots of small perfect squares and cube roots of small perfect cubes.
8.G.B.6 Explain a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem and its converse.
8.G.B.7 Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to determine unknown side lengths in right triangles in real-world and mathematical problems
in two and three dimensions.
8.G.B.8 Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to find the distance between two points in a coordinate system.
Standards of Mathematical Practice Addressed:
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP4 Model with mathematics.
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP5 Use appropriate tools strategically.
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP6 Attend to precision.
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP7 Look for and make use of structure.

Understandings
Overarching Understanding
The students will explore the areas and side lengths of squares and
right triangles. Their explorations will lead them to discovering the
Pythagorean Theorem. The students will conceptually understand that
that the sum of the areas of the squares on the legs of a right triangle is
equal to the area of the square on the hypotenuse. The students will
use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the distance between two points
and to find an unknown side length of a right triangle when given the
two other side lengths.
Related Misconceptions

Essential Questions
Overarching
-How does this relate to my
everyday life?
-How can I use this material
in the future?
-In what ways does this
material connect to the last
unit?
-What do I already know
about this topic?

Topical
-How is the Pythagorean
Theorem useful and
appropriate in this situation?
-How can I find the distance
between two points?
-How can I estimate the
square root of a number?
-How can I estimate the cube
root of a number?

Misconceptions:
1. The Pythagorean Theorem can apply to right triangles as
well as acute and scalene triangles.
2. You cannot find the cube root of a negative number.
3. The square root of a negative number is a real number
(not imaginary).
4. When using the Pythagorean Theorem, the square of the
leg equals the sum of the square of the other leg and the
square of the hypotenuse. (Rearranging the order of a2 +
b2 = c2)
5. You cannot subdivide a figure to find the total area of the
figure.
6. The distance along grid lines between two points can
sometimes be shorter than the straight-line distance
between two points.
7. Applying the Pythagorean Theorem as a2 + b2 = c.
(Students regularly forget to take the square root of the
sum of a2and b2 to find c.)

Knowledge

-How can I explain this

material to my peers?
-How can I make use of
mathematical language to
explain my work to my peers?
-How can I demonstrate my
understanding of the
material?
-How can I improve my
understanding of the
material?
-How can I help my peers who
are struggling with the
material?
-How can this material apply
to other subjects?
-How is this material essential
to my understanding of
mathematics?

-How are the side length and

the area of a square related?
-How are the side length and
the area of a cube related?
-How can I find an unknown
side length of a right
triangle?
-How can I find an area of a
figure on a dot grid?
-How can I prove the
Pythagorean Theorem?
-How can I use the
Pythagorean Theorem?
-How can I determine if a
number is irrational?

Objectives
Skills

Students will know

Students will be able to

-Students will know that straight-line distances between two points on a

coordinate grid are shorter than or equal to the distance along the grid
lines.
-Students will know that square roots of non-perfect squares are
irrational numbers.
-Students will know that cube roots of non-perfect cubes are irrational
numbers.
-Students will know how to compare irrational numbers and determine
the larger irrational number.
-Students will know that the sum of the areas of the squares on the legs
of a right triangle is equal to the area of the square on the hypotenuse.
-Students will know the reasoning behind the Pythagorean Theorem,
a2 + b2 = c2.

-Students will be able to develop strategies for finding the

distance between two points on a coordinate grid.
-Students will be able to find the area of a figure on a dot grid
by subdividing the figure and finding the areas of the parts.
-Students will be able to evaluate square roots of small
perfect squares and estimate square roots of non-perfect
squares.
-Students will be able to evaluate cube roots of small perfect
cubes and estimate cube roots of non-perfect cubes.
-Students will be able to use rational approximations of
irrational numbers to compare the size of irrational numbers.
-Students will be able to explain a proof of the Pythagorean
Theorem and its converse.
-Students will be able to use the Pythagorean Theorem to
determine unknown side lengths in right triangles in realworld and mathematical problems.

Assessment Evidence (Stage 2)

Performance Task Description: Unit Test
Goal
Role
Audience

Situation

Product/Performance

Standards

The students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the material. The students will be able
to explain the proof of the Pythagorean Theorem and apply this theorem to real-world and mathematical
problems. The students will be able to find the area of a given figure by subdividing the figure into
different parts. The students will be able to find square roots of perfect squares and cube roots of
perfect cubes. They will also be able to estimate square roots and cube roots.
Summative Assessment
Ms. Wolfer, Mrs. Levinsohn, Mrs. Smith
The students will be given the test after all of the Investigations have been completed, we have gone
over the homework from the ACE problems, and dedicated a day towards reviewing the material. The
class will have the entire hour (50-minute period) to finish the test. Students who do not finish the test
during this period will have to make arrangements to finish the test after-school, during lunch, or the
next morning. For students who have IEPs that allow them to have the test read aloud, they will go with
Mrs. Smith into her classroom. Mrs. Smith will read the entire test aloud to these individuals.
The students will be given the class period to complete the test. The test will cover the material
presented in class. Students who receive a score lower than 70% should consider re-taking the test.
Common Core State Standards Addressed:
8.NS.A.2 Use rational approximations of irrational numbers to compare the size of irrational numbers,
locate them approximately on a number line diagram, and estimate the values of the expressions.
8.EE.A.2 Use square root and cube root symbols to represent solutions to equations of the form x2 = p
and x3 = p, where p is a positive rational number. Evaluate square roots of small perfect squares and
cube roots of small perfect cubes.
8.G.B.6 Explain a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem and its converse.
8.G.B.7 Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to determine unknown side lengths in right triangles in realworld and mathematical problems in two and three dimensions.
8.G.B.8 Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to find the distance between two points in a coordinate system.

Other Evidence
Other evidence will be collected as I observe the students working on the problems during class and through the questions I ask the
students as they complete each Investigation. I will focus on the strategies that the students use and level at which the students
understand the concept behind the Pythagorean Theorem. The students will also complete exit slips throughout this unit and will have
ACE problems assigned as homework. I will carefully analyze the students written work to determine if the students are meeting the
goals of the unit.

Learning Plan (Stage 3)

Day in Unit

Lesson
Topic

Lesson Learning
Objective

Inv 1.1

The students are introduced to

the idea of finding distances
between two points.

Inv 1.2

Students will recognize

properties of right triangles;
they will recognize that right
triangles have one 90 degree
angle.

Inv 1.3

Students will be able to find the

area of different figures on a dot
grid. They will review finding the
area of a triangle (A= BH).
They will also find the area of
squares and rectangles.

Description of how
lesson contributes to
unit-level objectives
Students will review the concept
of the coordinate grid. Students
will find two types of distances
between points. They will find
distance along grid lines which
will be represented by driving
distances along streets. They will
also find straight-line distances
which will represented by flying
distance.
Students will be given two
vertices and will have to find the
coordinates of a point that would
allow the figure formed to be a
right triangle. While they are
finding the third vertex, they will
look at distances between points.
The students will find multiple
examples of points that will allow
for a right triangle to be created.
The students will also find the
coordinates of two vertices that
would allow the figure to become
a square, rectangle, and
parallelogram.
Students will find areas of figures
on a dot grid. The students will
notice that different strategies
are needed to find the area of the
figures on the dot grid. The
students will subdivide the
figures and the find the areas of

Assessment activities
Monitoring students work
Questioning
ACE pg. 14 #1-7

Monitoring students work

Questioning
Exit Slip: Given the two vertices,
find a point that will allow for a
right triangle to be created on
the coordinate grid.

Monitoring students work

Questioning
ACE pg. 16 #21-25

Inv 2.1

Students will explore the

relationship between the side
lengths and areas of squares.
This will support the
development of irrational
numbers as lengths of sides of
some squares.

Inv 2.2

Students will be introduced to

the concept of square root in the
context of the relationship
between the area of a square
and the length of its sides. The
students will be able to evaluate
square roots of small perfect
squares. They will also be able
to estimate square roots of nonperfect squares.

Inv 2.3

Students develop a strategy for

finding the distance between
dots on a grid by examining the
line segment between the dots.
The students will continue to
work on finding square roots of
perfect and non-perfect squares.

Inv 2.4

Students will be introduced to

the concept of a cube root of a
number as the edge length of a
cube. Students will determine
cube roots of positive and
negative numbers.

the parts. They will then add the

areas of each of the parts to find
a total area. The students will
also go back to Investigation 1.2
and find the area of the squares
that were created.
The students will draw squares of
various sizes on dot grids. They
will also find the area of the
squares and determine their side
lengths. For the squares whose
side lengths are not horizontal or
vertical, the students will use
rulers to measure the side
lengths. The students will
develop their strategies for
finding distances between points.
The students will look at a square
with an area of 2 units2. They will
have to estimate the side length
of the square. They will then
relate the side length of the
square to the concept of square
root. The students will also build
on their understanding of
irrational numbers as they
estimate the side lengths of the
squares.
To find the length of the line
segment between 2 dots,
students draw a square with the
segment as one side, find the
area of the square, and then find
the square root of the area. In
addition to finding square roots,
the students will also work on
simplifying square roots.
The students will be given the
area of a cube and will have to
determine the side length of the
cube. The students will develop
their understanding of cube
roots.

Monitoring students work

Questioning
ACE pg. 29 #1, 3

Monitoring students work

Questioning
Exit Slip: Between what two
consecutive whole numbers does
the
lie? Explain.

Monitoring students work

Questioning
ACE pg. 30 #38, 39

Monitoring students work

Questioning
ACE pg. 33 #60-64

Inv 3.1

Students will compare the areas

of three squares that are on the
sides of a right triangle.
Students will conjecture that the
sum of the areas of the two
smaller squares is equal to the
area of the largest square.

Inv 3.2

Students are introduced to the

symbolic form: If a and b are the
lengths of legs of a right
triangle, and c is the length of
the hypotenuse, then a2 + b2 =
c2.

10

Inv 3.3

Students will discover how the

Pythagorean Theorem can be
used to find the length of a
segment on a coordinate grid.

11

Inv 3.4

Students will investigate the

converse of the Pythagorean
Theorem: if a, b, and c are the
lengths of the sides of a triangle
and a2 + b2 = c2, then the
triangle is a right triangle.

12

Review

The students will work with their

group to complete the problems
given in the review. The
students will ask questions on
the problems that cause them to

Students will collect data on the

areas of the squares that are on
the sides of an acute, a right, and
an obtuse triangle. The students
will notice a pattern with the
right triangles. They will notice
that the sum of areas of the two
smaller squares is equal to the
area of the largest square.
Students will investigate a puzzle
that verifies their conjecture that
the sum of the areas of the
squares on the legs of a right
triangle is equal to the area of
the square on the hypotenuse.
The students will be able to
explain the proof of the
Pythagorean Theorem.
The students will use the
Pythagorean Theorem to find the
length of a line segment. They
will construct a right triangle with
the segment as the hypotenuse.
They will add the squares of the
legs to find the square of the
hypotenuse. Once they find the
square root, they will have the
length of the segment.
Students will be given straws to
create right triangles with the
given side lengths. The students
will complete a table in which
they will identify whether the
side lengths satisfy a2 + b2 = c2
and if the triangle is a right
triangle. Students will be able to
explain the converse of the
Pythagorean Theorem.
There will be stations around the
room that each focus on a
different topic that was discussed
during this unit. The students will
be given 5 minutes at each

Monitoring students work

Questioning
Exit Slip: Find the area of the
largest square on the side of the
right triangle from the given
areas of the 2 smaller squares.

Monitoring students work

Questioning
Exit Slip: State the Pythagorean
Theorem as a rule for any right
triangle with leg lengths a and b
and hypotenuse length c.

Monitoring students work

Questioning
Exit Slip: Find the distance
between the points (-2, 3) and (1,
8).

Monitoring students work

Questioning
ACE pg. 51 #14-16

Monitoring students work

Questioning
Students work presented during
the class discussion

have difficulties.

13

Unit
Test

The students will be able to

demonstrate their
understanding of the material.
The students will complete
problems in which they will
make use of the Pythagorean
Theorem. They will also work on
problems that include finding
square roots, cube roots, the
area of a figure, the distance
between two points, and rational
estimates of irrational numbers.

station to work with their group

members. When the students
have been able to complete all of
the stations, we will have a whole
class discussion on the problems.
The students will be able to
explain their work to others and
respond to questions from their
peers.
The students will be assessed on
their understanding of the
material. The students will be
able to explain the proof of the
Pythagorean Theorem and apply
this theorem to real-world and
mathematical problems. The
students will be able to find the
area of a given figure by
subdividing the figure into
different parts. The students will
be able to find square roots of
perfect squares and cube roots of
perfect cubes. They will also be
able to estimate square roots and
cube roots.

Unit Test