teaching angles

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teaching angles
By teachy

First of all, the terms isoceles and scalene refer to triangles, not angles themselves, and that concept is well bweyond 4th grade. You should be using the terms acute, right, and obtuse angles.
Give lots of exposure
on just the idea of an angle first, before getting into that part. Then, start with the idea of a "square corner" ( right angle). Students can see square corners on index cards, worksheets, etc. They can also use these to measure whether an angle is larger (obtuse) or smaller (acute) than a right angle. Only introduce the technical terms as the students are ready for them aqnd understanding

the concept in general. The name square corner helps them remember what it means (even after they start calling it a 'right angle'). You can also tell them the smaller angles are called acute because it's "a cute little angle!" This is what I've done with my 3rd graders and it worked like a charm! GOod luck!

PS-- I find that the way you present terms makes a big difference. For example, I tell my students that the "3rd grade word for square corner is right angle". We emphasize how they're getting to be so grown up and intelligent and they get really into it!