Author: Elvira Santos
Origin: PORTUGAL
Implemented in: France
The aim is to work on different triangles with the students and to make them discover the relationship between the longest side of the triangle and the other two sides. They find answers to questions such as: “If the angles of the triangle stay the same, can the length of the sides change?” Students have to construct different triangles using spreadsheets to find out what changes if they modify the angle or the length of a side. Furthermore, they learn about Pythagoras’ theorem with the teacher in the role of facilitator.
Success stories
According to the teachers who implemented this GP, the method of letting the students construct many different triangles to allow them to find out the relationship between the corresponding sides of two triangles was very effective, as they could internalize and understand the concept. A French teacher said about Pythagoras’ theorem: “My colleagues really liked this GP and will implement it again next year.”
