Investigating Relationships and Connections of Angles

To help enquire further into our central idea:

              When angles co-exist, connections and relationships form.


I placed provocations along the hallway.  The children chose ones they found interesting to enquire into and using protractors etc used the taped shapes or angles to investigate connections or relationships between them.

Children discovered how all the angles of all quadrilaterals add up to 360°!!!

Why?   Hmmmmm.......good question!

How are the angles of a triangle connected with the angles of a quadrilateral?

Some children discovered that all the interior angles added up to 180°!!

"But why is that?" A student overhearing this asked.

We often discuss how understanding the 'whys' in maths is actually more important than the 'hows' as it deepens our understandings, so it's great when I hear the children now asking themselves and others these questions. 

What relationships exist when angles add to a straight angle of 180°?

How does knowing that a circle is 360° help us to find connections or relationships with these angles?

When two sets of parallel lines intercept, what connections or relationships amongst the angles exist and why is that?

What connections exist with the interior or exterior angles of pentagons?

A lot of excited discussions took place as the children investigated.  Theories were formed and tested and they recorded their discoveries and wonderings to share later in small group discussions.

 

 

Whilst doing this towards the end of our unit, in retrospect I think this could have been a successful lead in provocation engagement at the beginning of our unit to get the children thinking about angle relationships.

As it is, they felt it was great to help deepen their understandings of their central idea and always appreciate being able to choose what interests them rather than being told what to do on a worksheet.

Fun, engaging and deep thinking took place with this simple enquiry-based experience :)