Last week my students took their district benchmark assessments, so I was on the hunt for something fun and relevant for when they finished testing. I was so happy to come across a great activity from 123 Teach-Brittany Kiser that she had available as a freebie in her TPT store. Seeing that the topic fit perfectly with what we were studying, and gave them another way to practice applying the Pythagorean Theorem, I quickly downloaded her Pythagorean Theorem Drawing Project. And my students LOVED it.
Because we were doing testing, I actually introduced this activity differently than I’ve introduced assignments before. Before the testing session started, I explained that this project would be their task as they finished the test. I walked through the project and answered their questions about it ahead of time, as they understood we wouldn’t be talking while others were still testing.
As students finished testing, they seamlessly transitioned into this activity. It was so nice to have a formal assignment ready for them, rather than the “take out a book and read” that I usually default to.
As more and more students were working on the project, I noticed that they were really working and engaged. There was no slacking off or complaining. They genuinely enjoyed the activity and trying to solve their problem, explain how they solved it, and represent the situation creatively and mathematically. After the end of the period bell rang, several of them wanted to stay and finish up their project.
Pythagorean Theorem Drawing Project
Here’s what students were asked to do:
- Choose a scenario between 3 given options
- Solve the problem using the Pythagorean Theorem
- Explain in paragraph form how they set up and solved the problem
- Draw and color a model of the scenario
It was awesome to see what they came up with:
Students worked hard and wrote a lot. It was a great way for me to see how they were thinking about the Pythagorean Theorem and it also provided a nice change of pace for them. Definitely a winner!
More Pythagorean Theorem
Want more Pythagorean Theorem resources and ideas? Check out how I plan my unit with I Can statements here. Or, read about the discovery lab that introduced students to the topic and helped them get a deeper understanding of the concept here. You can also find 13 Pythagorean Theorem activities here (including more freebies & resources)
Thanks so much for reading. Until next time!
