Mathematics
Intermediate
50 mins
Teacher/Student led
+65 XP
What you need:
IWB/Projector/Large Screen

Angles: an Angle Is an Amount of Turn

Explore how an angle measures the amount of turn at a corner, not the length of the lines. Compare small and big turns starting from the same point using card strips and interactive tools.

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    1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

    Illustration for Getting StartedStand up and face the front. Now turn a little to your side. Now turn much further round. You did not walk anywhere, but something changed each time.

    What changed when you turned? Was the second turn bigger or smaller than the first?

    2 - Watch and Notice ~8 mins

    Key point

    This opening has a name: it is the angle. First, watch what makes the angle bigger.

    Illustration for Watch and NoticeWatch two joined card strips at the front. The two strips are the arms of the angle: they are the two lines that meet at the corner. Their corner stays fixed while one arm swings open. When the arms open only a little, the opening is small. When they open wide, the opening is big.

    Now watch this. One arm will be made longer while the opening stays exactly the same. Watch what happens to the size of the angle.

    3 - Try It Together ~8 mins

    Today we open the arm on the board together. We will make four openings. First a small opening. Then a square-corner opening, the kind you find at the corner of a page or a book. Then a wide opening. And finally an opening even bigger than the square corner.

    Tip

    Before each one, everyone show with your hands roughly how far the arm will swing. Each opening is a bit wider than the one before, so ask yourself: will this one be wider than the last?

    Open the arm to make a turn

    4 - Draw a Small and a Big Angle ~2 mins

    COPYBOOK MOMENT

    In your maths copy, draw a small angle and a big angle, both starting from the same corner. Label which one shows the bigger turn.

    5 - Class Challenge ~8 mins

    Today we make these turns on the board, one after another: a small turn, a square-corner turn, a turn a bit wider than the square corner, and then a wide turn. Everyone point in the air first to show roughly how far the arm should swing, then watch one person match it on the board.

    Make each turn

    Pupil practice
    Module 7 · 2D and 3D Shapes and Angles Data & Chance
    Lesson 79 · Angles: an Angle Is an Amount of Turn
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