JDrawing a Regular PolygonJ

 

This is an activity that I did with my 7th grade math students.  It worked really well with one class and OK with the second class.  I have already made some improvements from my original assignment to the one that is shown below.  I would not have done this project at the beginning of the year.  After participating in CTLW I am now consciously trying to find ways to allow my students to do higher level math skills.  This task allowed them to apply what they knew about angles and polygons and create a perfectly drawn polygon.  In my original assignment I did not have a minimum number of sides for their polygon and many of my students chose triangles and squares which were not nearly challenging enough.  The students that did pentagons and octagons really benefited from the assignment and had great pictures to show.  For this assignment the students each did an individual picture but worked in groups on this so they could ask each other questions and get support.  I did not answer any questions unless they were to clarify what was being asked in a problem.  The sheet walks the students through some of the math and if I was working with a different group of student I might not have provided so much help in this area.  For my students this assignment was challenging but not so frustrating that they want to give up.  Hopefully some other teachers could use this activity (or a modified version) in their classroom.

 

Polygon Review Project #1

Name: ____________________________________

 

The goal of this project is to draw a “regular” polygon.  This worksheet will work you through the process and then you need to draw your polygon on another sheet of blank paper. 

 

  1. What does “regular” mean? _________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

  1. What is a polygon? ________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

  1. How many sides will your shape have (5-10)? _____________
  2. Sketch what it will look like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. How many triangles could you divide your shape into? ____________
  2. How many degrees do all of the angles in your shape add up to?(Hint: take your number of triangles x 180)  ___________________________
  3. Take your total degrees (#3 answer) and divide it by the total # of angles in your shape. ____________________________
  4. How many degrees is each angle in your shape going to be? ____________________
  5. Practice below using your protractor to draw a 75 degree angle and a 140 degree angle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. How long is each of your sides going to be? (between 2 and 8 inches) _____________
  2. Start drawing your figure by drawing a bottom line that is the length you have chosen.
  3. Now use your protractor to measure the angle you need.  Connect that angle lightly and then measure it to make the next side the correct length.
  4. Continue 10 and 11 for all remaining sides.
  5. Label the angles and lengths of the sides of your polygon and put the name of it at the top.

 

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