Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Kinesthetic Right Triangle Trig with the Flip Video


I tried to reach my kinesthetic learners with this activity. Basically, the students are laying down on the floor and making right triangles. Then there is some right triangle trigonometry going on. I think it reinforced the SOHCAHTOA concept in a new way.

Here are my instructions:
1. Your group of four will make a single video of some Trig problems.
2. Each person will take a turn taking the video. (with a FLIP Video Camera)
3. The other three people will form a right triangle on the floor by laying down. Make sure you make a CLEAR right angle. When you are laying down, make sure you are in a head to feet order.
4. The person running the flip video will explain where the right angle is, and then call out a trig function and an angle like SIN of ALEX.
Once the trig function is named, the person who is the Opposite side will wave and say "opposite". Then the person who is the hypotenuse will wave and say "hypotenuse".
5. Change the person who is taking the video and form another triangle with the remaining people.
6. Repeat the process for each person who is using the flip.
We watched some of the videos after they finished. I think this just further reinforced the concept. You will get the idea with the video below. This is just a clip of a 2 minute video.


6 comments:

Telannia Norfar said...

That is a great idea. Do you mind if I share with my geometry teachers?

Dave Sladkey said...

Feel free to share. I hope it works out well for them.
Dave

Scott Hudson said...

This is a terrific and creative idea. It is a challenge for me to find activities that will get the kids moving and provide a quality learning experience. Kids love video, and I can envision lessons involving equation solving, graphing lines and geometric transformations (w/ your pipe cleaner idea) being Flip Video-friendly.

How and where did you get the cameras? Like most, if not all schools, my school is on a shoestring budget. Any suggestions? Also, is the management of the cameras difficult?

mmallon said...

I really like this idea. It gets the students up, moving, and involved in determing the function as people!

Anonymous said...

You can also challenge them to find Pythagorean Triples in the class. That is, which three students make the most accurate right triangle!

Erika said...

Love this idea!!