I eventually learned that not all students are going to grasp material the first way something is taught. So I don’t discredit little tricks like this one if it helps even one student feel more confident when working on the Unit Circle in class. Sure, there’s no substitute to true understanding, but I’m a huge math nerd, and understanding the ins and outs of math is a passion of mine.Īnother passion I have is teaching math and showing students they are capable of success even if they don’t consider themselves gifted in math.
Use only degrees (or radians) and leave the extra information off. Need to differentiate? Start with what you need. Make it a permanent fixture as a bulletin board, or use tape on the angles and coordinates to make students place each piece in the appropriate spot. Students will understand they can’t escape the Unit Circle in trigonometry if it’s constantly displayed for them! And it might seem a bit less boring than writing it out on paper. Practice makes perfect! This worksheet can be used again and again. There’s also a worksheet included that asks students to find the coordinates of the angle that intercepts the unit circle. Students will drag and drop the angles in degrees, angles in radians, and the coordinates to their appropriate place around the circle. The unit circle can be completed on any device using this activity, designed for Google Slides.
TRIG CIRCLE PLUS
Plus it takes effort to put together and seemed to be valued by students more than just a worksheet. Special triangles and the values of sine and cosine available to figure out coordinates, or use to determine the other trig functions.Quadrants and x/y axis shown to make signs easy to determine.Equivalent angles in degrees and radians, easy to see.Students love to engage with the rotating special right triangles and it really emphasizes all the important information contained in the Unit Circle: So I adapted! This interactive Unit Circle stands out, clips in their math binder, and is a great hands-on tool! I would emphasize the value of knowing the Unit Circle but no matter what – the reference sheet students were supposed to keep in their binders would go missing regularly.
The Unit Circle in trigonometry sticks around a while, and so having a strong understanding is important. Don’t Just Try Memorizing the Unit Circle Students start to see patterns in the answers, and in the signs of those answers. In subsequent lessons, we break down that table into smaller parts that are easier to remember and students can breathe a sigh of relief. Usually, it resulted in a bunch of looks like uh, WHAT?!īut Special Right Triangles is the key to understanding the Unit Circle.
TRIG CIRCLE FULL
In the end, we were looking at a whole crazy big long table full of solutions that all looked the same. Then fill in the answers to the remaining 30˚ triangles. Then, we would work through the six trig functions of the Special Right Triangles. I’d start with the quadrant angles and find all six trig functions. I usually reserved two class periods to work through my planned Unit Circle guided notes. (It also makes taking notes faster, reduces errors in copying from board to paper, and absent students know exactly what they missed. That way they always have the tools they need to reference when they try to answer their own questions. So I almost always teach new topics with guided notes. I never want my students to feel like I am trying to trick them. Over the years, I created a few ways to help my students not just memorize, but also understand and master the unit circle. I love teaching trig! But the unit circle is a big beast. I really had to pump myself up to teach my students the unit circle in trigonometry *cue Rocky theme song music*.
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