Math lesson plan · 4th grade (Year 5 in England) · 45 minutes
Angles: types and measuring
Geometry
CCSS 4.MD.C.5CCSS 4.MD.C.6CCSS 4.MD.C.7CCSS 4.G.A.1England: Y3 GeometryEngland: Y5 Geometry
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Angles: types and measuring.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Classify quadrilaterals; Add and subtract within 1000
Leads to: Parallel and perpendicular lines; Classify triangles; angles in a triangle; Vertical, complementary and supplementary angles
Materials: Rulers and protractors, Squared or dotted paper, Shape cut-outs, Mini whiteboards and pens, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 5 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Classify quadrilaterals; Add and subtract within 1000). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- A quadrilateral has two pairs of parallel sides and no right angles, sides not all equal. What is it? (parallelogram / trapezoid (trapezium) / rhombus / square) → parallelogramPrompt: Check the sides: are they equal? Are any parallel?
- What is 100 less than 859? → 759Prompt: Which digit changes when you subtract 100?
- True or false? Every rectangle is a square. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Think about what the definition of each shape needs.
Hook · 5 min
- Show a photo of a building, a tile pattern or a road sign and ask what shapes and angles students can spot.
- Share the objective: Angles: types and measuring. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 10 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: What type of angle is 65°?
- Step 1: 65° is acute.
- Answer: acute
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 10 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- What type of angle is 180°? (acute / right / obtuse / straight / reflex) → straightPrompt: Compare with a right angle (90°) and a straight line (180°).
- Two angles together make a straight line. One is 165°. What is the other, in degrees? → 15Prompt: Angles on a straight line add up to 180°.
You do: independent practice · 10 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 5 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Three angles meet at a point. Two of them are 36° and 126°. What is the third, in degrees? → 198Prompt: Angles around a point add up to 360°.
- Two angles together make a straight line. One is 111°. What is the other, in degrees? → 69Prompt: Angles on a straight line add up to 180°.
Watch out for
- Thinking a square turned on its corner is no longer a square.
- Reading the wrong scale on a protractor.
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Classify quadrilaterals.
- Use concrete materials: rulers and protractors.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Move on to: Parallel and perpendicular lines; Classify triangles; angles in a triangle; Vertical, complementary and supplementary angles.
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/math/grade-4.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder