Lessons & Units :: What's Your Angle, Pythagoras? 3rd Grade Unit

Paired Text Questions: "The Scientific Method" & What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras?

Lesson Plan

What's Your Angle, Pythagoras? | AD670L

What's Your Angle, Pythagoras?
Learning Goal
Integrate information from the non-fiction passage “The Scientific Method” and the book What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras? to identify effective problem-solving techniques..
Necessary Materials
Provided:
  1. Questions
  2. Non-fiction reading passage “The Scientific Method”

Not Provided:
What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras?
 
  • Questions 1 and 2 refer to the non-fiction passage "The Scientific Method." Questions 3 and 4 refer to the book What's Your Angle, Pythagoras? Questions 5 and 6 refer to both the passage and the book.
  • Student versions of the questions are in the 'Texts & Materials' tab.
 
Part 1: "The Scientific Method"
 
Read the passage “The Scientific Method” out loud to your students. Alternatively, students can read the passage independently or as a group.
 
Question 1: What is the first step of the scientific method? Provide details.
 
Sample student answer: The first step of the scientific method is making observations. That means looking at the world around you to find out all you can about a problem you want to solve.
 
Question 2: Why is making observations an important part of solving a problem?
 
Sample student answer: Making observations gives you information about what the problem is. The more information you have about a problem, the better you understand it.
 
Part 2: What's Your Angle, Pythagoras?
 
Question 3: What are some things Pythagoras does that help him solve problems? Give an example.
 
Sample student answer (may vary):
  • Pythagoras asks a lot of questions. As a result, he learns what a right triangle is. Pythagoras sees patterns and similarities between things. He sees how the triangle made by the knotted rope is like the triangle of the statue base, and how the triangle of the statue base is like the triangle with the ladder.
  • Pythagoras experiments, or tries things out on his own. He knots a piece of rope and pulls it into different triangles to understand how right triangles are made. That discovery helps him see how to make the bases of the columns straight.
 
Question 4: How does Pythagoras use math to solve problems? Give an example.
 
Sample student answer (may vary):
  • Pythagoras notices patterns and similarities. He sees how the triangle of the statue base is similar to the triangle formed by the ladder, the wall, and the ground.
  • Pythagoras uses measurements and counting. By counting the number of tiles around the right triangle of the statue base, he discovers how the lengths of the different sides are related to each other.
 
Part 3: "The Scientific Method” and What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras?
 
Question 5: How is what Pythagoras does to solve problems similar to the scientific method? Give a specific example.
 
Sample student answer (may vary):
  • Pythagoras makes observations. An example is when he looks at the columns to see what is wrong with them.
  • Pythagoras experiments. An example is when he knots a piece of rope and pulls it into different triangles.
 
Question 6: Based on the passage and the story, what are some things you can do to solve problems in everyday life?
 
Sample student answer (may vary):

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

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User Comments

I like this for my kids

Submitted by ms.cacace on 10/9/16

I like this

Submitted by sahana on 10/9/16