Lesson Plan 1

Lesson Plan 1 Instructional Materials

Learning Experience Plan

Subject: Geometry
Unit: Introduction to Trigonometric Functions
Topic: Side Ratios of Similar Triangles

Grade level: 9
Day/periods: Day 1/ 25 min period

Content Standards:
1. HS-G-SRT-6. Understand that by similarity, side ratios in right triangles are properties of the
angles in the triangle, leading to the definitions of trigonometric ratios for acute angles.
Literacy Standards:
Speaking Standard: Grades 9-10: 4. b. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence
clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the
organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and
task.

Learning Experience Outcomes

Students will:
-Understand the three basic trigonometric
functions.
-Differentiate between the three basic
trigonometric functions.

Differentiation
Approaching
Students who are
approaching will be able to
understand sin, cos and tan as
functions of the angle, but
may mistake the definitions

Learning Experience Assessments

-Constant Q&A throughout examples
-Assessment of teamwork during triangle
problems
-Assessment of verbal explanation of each
measurement
-Exit Ticket 1.

On-level
On-level students will be
expected to be able to define
each trigonometric function
for either given acute angle of
a right triangle.

Curriculum Integration
Materials/ Procedures/Strategies

Beyond
Students are on-level but are
able to complete tasks quickly
and correctly and/or make use
of appropriate academic
language within their
explanation and refer to
conceptual ideas rather than
only procedural methods.

Resources
Whiteboar Day 1
d
Anticipatory Set:
Whiteboar
1. Have all students in the class and draw any triangle they want on the board.
d markers
2. After all students have finished, erase all the triangles that are not right
triangles (Triangles with one angle of exactly 90 degrees Dont expect every
Students
triangle to be perfect with 90 degrees, if it looks close enough keep it on the
notebooks
board).
Triangles
Workshee
t
Rulers
Exit Ticket
1
Formative
Assessme
nt 1

Learning Target: I can define sine, cosine, and tangent in order to use side ratios of
similar right triangles.
Direct Instruction:
3. After finding one right triangle on the board (You may need to draw one of
your own), ask students what the triangles have in common. Most students
will recognize right away that they are right triangles.
4. Ask students what they know about right triangles, such as what sides are
called, how to name angles, and about opposite/adjacent. By the end of the
discussion students should have the following definitions:
- Hypotenuse Longest side of the triangle, opposite of the right angle.
- Leg The height of the triangle.
- Base The bottom side of a triangle
- Opposite Side directly across from the given angle
- Adjacent The other side touching the angle (besides hypotenuse)
5. Now, explain to students that we are going to take a ratio of the side lengths
of triangles. The specific ratios we are looking for are: Opposite/Hypotenuse,
Adjacent / Hypotenuse and Opposite / Adjacent.
Guided Practice
6. Break students up into groups of 3-5. Give each group a handdrawn Triangles
Worksheet. Have students measure the side lengths of each triangle, and find
the ratios given by the angle.
7. Each group will have similar triangles, thus the lengths of each side may be
different, but each ratio should be the same. NOTE: Due to this being
measured by hand there may be a slight error, but ratios will look generally
the same.
8. After all sides are measured, have students from each group come up to the
board and fill in their respective triangles.
9. Students will notice that all the ratios are the same (or extremely similar).
Thus we can define functions based on similar triangles; Sin A = Opposite /
Hypotenuse, Cos A = Adjacent / Hypotenuse, Tan A = Opposite / Adjacent
Independent Practice
10. Give students their exit ticket to work out the sin, cos, and tangent for

various triangles.
Closure
11. Bring the class to a close in the final 3-5 minutes, and ask them again what
the definition of Sin, Cos, and Tan are. Finally, ask them If we can determine
the ratio of sides, what do you think that means for the angles of similar right
triangles.
12. Hand out homework (Formative Assessment 1) while students discuss this in
groups.

Lesson Plan 2
Lesson Plan 2 Instructional Materials

Learning Experience Plan

Subject: Geometry
Unit: Introduction to Trigonometric Functions
Topic: Uses of the Trigonometric Ratios

Grade level: 9
Day/periods: Day 1/ 25 min period

Content Standards:
1. HS-G-SRT 7. Explain and use the relationship between the sine and cosine of complementary
angles.
Literacy Standards:
Writing Standard: Grades 9-10: 1. b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying data
and evidence for each while pointing out that strengths of limitations of both claim(s) and
counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form and in a manner that anticipates the audiences
knowledge level and concerns.

Learning Experience Outcomes

Students will:
-Understand the relationship between sine
and cosine of complementary angles.
- Understand how to solve for an unknown
side length if given the angle measure and one
piece of a trigonometric ratio.
Differentiation
Approaching
Students who are
approaching will be expected
to set up equations to solve
for unknown sides but may
not solve them correctly.

Learning Experience Assessments

-Constant Q&A throughout examples
-Assessment of Worksheet 2
- Formative Assessment 2

On-level
On-level students will be
expected to solve for missing
side lengths if given enough
information.

Curriculum Integration
Materials/ Procedures/Strategies

Beyond
Students are on-level but are
able to complete tasks quickly
and correctly and/or make use
of appropriate academic
language within their
explanation and refer to
conceptual ideas rather than
only procedural methods.

Resources
Whiteboar Day 2
d
Anticipatory Set:
Whiteboar
1. Enter class with two similar triangles drawn
d markers
2. Have students find the three trigonometric ratios for both of the acute
angles.
Students
3. Ask the question What do you notice about the sin and cos of each?
notebooks
Learning Target: I can understand that the sin of one acute angle is equal to the
Workshee cosine of the opposite acute angle.
t2
I can solve for unknown side lengths when given angles and one side length.
Formative
Assessme Direct Instruction:
4. Now, draw a triangle on the board, but instead of identifying all the sides,
nt 2
only identify two sides as well as one angle.
Calculator
5. Have students discuss with their table for 3 minutes about possible ways to
s
solve for the unknown side measure. Give them the hint to write out
everything given. (IE: Sin A = Opp/Hyp, We know that Angle A is 36 degrees
and the hypotenuse is 17, so we have Sin 36 = Opp/Hyp)
6. After the students have discussed, ask the students for various ways to
possibly solve this equation (Note, some students might want to use the
Pythagorem theorem, which is correct as well, but it is important to show
students that this method also works).
7. Demonstrate to students that writing out the definition of Sine, Cosine, and
Tangent (depending on the angle given) allows students to solve for the
missing side, just like any variable.
Guided Practice
8. Have students work in pairs / groups together on Worksheet 2
9. After 10 minutes of working, have one student from each group come up and
present a problem from the worksheet.
10. Have students explain to the class why they chose which trigonometric ratio
they did, and have them check on the board with another ratio to ensure that
they got the correct answer.
Closure
11. After every student has presented a problem, hand out homework (Formative
Assessment 2). Bring the class to a close by asking students to think of
possible ways right triangles can be used in the real world, as that is the focus

of the lesson tomorrow.

Independent Practice:
12. Students will complete formative assessment #2 and bring it into class as
their independent practice.

Lesson Plan 3
Lesson Plan 3 Instructional Materials

Learning Experience Plan

Subject: Geometry
Unit: Introduction to Trigonometric Functions
Topic: Real Life Applications of the Trigonometric Ratios

Grade level: 9
Day/periods: Day 1/ 25 min period

Content Standards:
1. HS-G-SRT 8. Use trigonometric ratios and the Pythagorean Theorem to solve right triangles in
applied problems.
Literacy Standards:
Writing Standard: Grades 9-10: 1. b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying data
and evidence for each while pointing out that strengths of limitations of both claim(s) and
counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form and in a manner that anticipates the audiences
knowledge level and concerns.

Learning Experience Outcomes

Students will:
-Be able to solve for real life problems using
basic principles of trigonometric functions and
ratios.
Differentiation
Approaching
Students who are
approaching will be expected
to set up the problems
correctly, but may make
mistakes during solving.

Learning Experience Assessments

-Constant Q&A throughout examples
-Worksheet 3
- Summative Assessment 1

On-level
On-level students will be
expected to completely solve
real life word problems based
on what is given in the word
problems, as well as solve
correctly.

Curriculum Integration
Materials/ Procedures/Strategies
Resources
Whiteboar Day 3

Beyond
Students are on-level but are
able to complete tasks quickly
and correctly and/or make use
of appropriate academic
language within their
explanation and refer to
conceptual ideas rather than
only procedural methods.

d
Anticipatory Set:
Whiteboar
1. Ask students if they can notice any right triangles in the classroom right now.
d markers
2. Then ask students Can you think of times where there are right triangles in
real life, without it even being apparent.
Students
3. Have examples such as a basketball hoop, telephone poles, shadows from
notebooks
buildings, balloons hanging, etc.
Workshee
t3

Learning Target: I can use sine, cosine and tangent in order to solve real life
problems with right triangles.

Summativ
e
Assessme
nt 1

Direct Instruction:
4. Tell your students this story: I was playing basketball with my friend, he had
just gotten his driveway pathed so that it was at a flat 45 degree angle from
the basketball hoop. I knew the basketball hoop was set to the default 10 feet
tall. I wanted to know how far away I the hoop was from where I was
standing, in order to make the perfect shot.

Calculator
s

5. Draw out the picture for the students. Have point T be where you are
standing. Draw a basketball hoop to the right of it. From the ground to the
basketball hoop will be called h, and we knew h was 10. Then draw a line
from point T to point H (the top of the hoop) and label it x. Draw a line from T
to P (bottom of hoop) to complete the triangle. We know that angle T is 45
degrees, so label that. We also know that angle P is 90 degrees,making a right
angle, because it is perpendicular to the ground.
6. Have students solve for x the way they did last lesson.
7. Demonstrate that as long as you read the problem correctly, you can always
draw a diagram to create a right triangle that you can solve for yourself.
Guided Practice
8. Have students work in pairs / groups together on Worksheet 3
9. Assign each of the four groups one problem to work on, making sure they
draw their own diagram for the problem given.
10. After drawing the diagram, students have to use their prior knowledge from
the previous lesson to decide which trigonometric ratio to use, and how to
solve it.
11. Students will then come up to the board, draw their diagram, and explain to
the class the steps they took to solve.
Closure
12. Review each of the students work, and sum up the past three lessons. Show
that we can now solve for real world problems using basic ideas of length and

angle lengths.
Independent Practice:
13. Students will complete summative assessment 1, a project about a park and
basketball hoops.