Real Life Transversal Angles.

The other day I created this comic strip on transversal angles because my students struggled with understanding each one.  I wanted a way for students to really pay attention to the location of the angles.

They actually read it and put it in their notebooks.  The day after I gave it to them, I asked them to create real life situations for each type of transversal angles.  I stated they could also use the positions of buildings to convey the location of angles.

The assignment required a lot of thought by my students .  A few occasionally asked if they were on the right track.  One young man asked if the two angles he'd marked on a two story house were indeed corresponding angles.  I gave him a high five.

Another young man created a triangle with over lapping lines and marked vertical angles on it.  I asked what it represented in real life.  The young man looked me in the eye while explaining it was part of the Golden Gate Bridge where cables crossed over each other forming the angles. 

I drew a couple examples from other students on a piece of paper to share with everyone.  The first, a cross drawn by a young lady to show vertical angles.  I thought the creativity was great.  The second example is of monkey bars.  The young lady marked the alternate interior angles inside the monkey bars.

The final example came from another young lady who marked in boardwalks between the store and the church so she could show how the store and church were located where the alternate exterior angles are .  All the while they searched for ideas in their minds, they consulted the comic to make sure they had most things right.

The final activity took place this past Wednesday when I ran a short jeopardy type game.  I drew a picture with things on it like of two airplanes landing on two different runways so the planes might be in the corresponding angle position.

The kids had a blast.  They'd carefully check the comic again, argue before writing down their answers.  One group missed the first couple questions and cheered when they got the third question right.

I tried a different way of teaching this topic because the traditional ways didn't seem to work well.  I'm hoping this helps them remember the material in a more relevant way.  As always, let me know what you think.  Have a great day.