Angle sum in a polygon

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Do you want to teach the angle sum property for a polygon?
Here you go!


  1. Ask the students to go to the link: www.mathsteacher.com.au/year8/ch10_geomcons/02_internal/anglesum.htm#internal
  2. There is a lovely self learning module on it. Ask them to learn the formula for sum of angles from it. 
  3. Reinforce it by a discussion.
  4. Ask them to them solve some problems
  5. Take a short 1 question assessment to check their clarity. Give them about 5 minutes to solve it. 
  6. Give them the answer so they can self check their work.
  7. Give them 3 minutes to check with buddies if their answer is not correct. 

I wonder why we need to teach when so much information is given on Google!

In addition, I want to share something that I did. I wanted to know how they felt about the process. So I gave 4 question prompts:

  1. I understood ...
  2. I liked ...
  3. I am confused by ...
  4. In this module ...

Here is one student's response:

Geometry Contemplation

  1. I understood…Though I knew all these formulas and the ways to find the interior angles, exterior angles, etc., it was nice to have someone/something assure you that the way you think is correct. This module was quite easy if you just concentrate on it; I understood many things well.
  2. I liked…I liked the way they made it so simple. We’ve spent 1 or 2 weeks for geometry, trying to understand and get the formulas into our heads. I was quite comfortable with geometry because it was an easy topic…no hard multiplications and division; only many simple additions and subtractions. However, I was stuck today when we did the interior angles and exterior angles because I haven’t done many exercises on them; I didn’t feel as if I can score good marks when there was a geometry test. However, in this module the things we were learning for about a week seemed…extremely easy. Even for the interior angles and exterior angles, I was able to understand them properly.
  3. I was confused by…I wasn’t confused in anything; but if I was to point out one thing, it will be the explanations. Most of the times, I memorize the formulas and do the sums. However, I like understanding the whole idea AND doing the sums. It’s because it’s fun when you fully understand them, and you don’t forget them easily. The only problem is, usually understanding the whole idea takes time and you don’t have much time to understand (perhaps with a very good teacher at your side for one, two hours will get you to understand the whole thing but as we would not be able to do that in Pathways). This module was great; it gave many formulas and, occasionally, explanations. The only problem was that sometimes, the explanation was hard to understand properly.
  4. This Module is…This module was on geometry and how to find out the degrees of the angles. It gave many simple examples and was, quite a five-star module. However, it would have been better if it had some quizzes in it like the one on the percentages did.
Kids must reflect on their work!

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