Working towards Pythagorean theorem

We took our knowledge of square side length and area and converted it into a tool for working with right angle triangles.

We used our set of squares (1×1 to 26×26) and talked about how to calculate the area (insides).  We talked about side x side and also side “to the power of two” or side squared.

We worked backwards too, determining the side length for a given area, which led to the concept of square root being introduced/revisited.

Next we used the squares to show patterns or pictures.

Heres a star

This pattern is cool too

Here’s a happy face

And this one, we decided that it is not a square since the side lengths are different.
We next used the squares to outline triangles, attempting to find the perfect right angle triangle.

We watched this video to help reinforce ideas of the pythagorean theorem.