What a year so far...

This school thus far can be summed up in one word:  CHANGE.

Some change for the better, some change for the different. (I will not say worse, as I don't know if that's the case yet...I have an open mind).  Here is a snapshot of what I am talking about:

• new graduation credit requirements kick in this year for our class of 2017
• with this comes a requirement of 3 years of math
• all of our students are starting at least with Algebra 1
• our HS is now running an alternating block schedule for the first time in history
• there are no study halls; there is, however, a 40-minute enrichment/intervention period M, T, Th, F for students to use as a study hall, go see a teacher for help, or be requested by teachers for remediation/interventions

This week added to the "fun": it's standardized testing time again at our high school, which means our sophomores come in at 7:45 and test until 10:30 or 11:00 3 of the 5 days this week.  The rest of the students come in afterwards, and we run a shortened schedule the rest of the day.  We also had Parent-Teacher conferences on the other 2 days that we weren't testing, and then a faculty meeting tonight after school.  Whew.

What did some of all of this, for me, is a chance during the testing, to start creating some things inspired by the Math Twitter Blogosphere.  I've gotten a TON of great ideas from you guys, and I wanted to actually feel like I could contribute for a change.

I have taught geometry for the past six years, but this year, I am only teaching a geometry fundamentals class.  Think of it as a support class, strictly pass/fail, that students are in in addition to their regular geometry class.

I don't give homework.
I don't give quizzes.
I don't give tests.
We play with geometry whenever possible.

With that in mind, the course is entering congruent triangle phase, with proving triangles congruent coming soon thereafter.  I wanted to find a way to get students to investigate and discover why SSS, SAS, ASA, and AAS all work, but also explore they 'whys' of why the other situations don't necessarily work.

I bring you:  Geometry Hold 'Em

NOTE:  The real only connection to Texas Hold 'Em is the three cards face down in the middle.  There's no bidding, no scoring, no poker faces...yet.

In a nutshell, students will use patty paper and draw what comes up on each card one step at a time.  It could be an angle, it could be a side.  There are instances where triangles won't work due to angles not adding up correctly in an AAA setup, or sides not working due to the Triangle Inequality in a SSS setup.  I want students to run into these scenarios, catch them, and explain to me why a triangle can't be formed.

I've embedded the file below, so take what you want.  If you would like the editable Word document, just contact me.  I will be trying this with my students next week, and I will report back with results.


Please comment :)