Student understanding of angles is not assessed on the GED math test.
But there are questions dealing with angles on the TABE 11/12, and TABE 13/14, especially on Level M.
For teachers looking for ways their students can explore angles that don’t take a lot of class time, we recommend this very engaging game called Estimating Angles.
The game screen looks like this:
Students use estimation to create an angle. The closer they are, the more points they get – the maximum is 10 points. Once they make their angle, they are told how close they were, given their points, and given their next angle to create.
The game goes on indefinitely. Every ten angles, it gives then the total number of points they have received for the last ten angles.
One of the things that is very satisfying about the game is that you can see your ability to create the angle improve fairly quickly. The way the game gives feedback is excellent for developing both your ability to estimate angles and your understanding of angles and how they work.
A nice activity to pair with the Estimating Angles game is to visit the Math is Fun Dictionary.
The dictionary defines angles as the amount of turn between two lines around their common point (the vertex).
Below the definition is an interactive circle that drops in different angle related vocabulary, including acute angles, right angles, obtuse angles, straight angles, and reflex angles.
The interactive circle doesn’t define the vocabulary, but allows students to create their own definitions. For any angles between 1 and 89 degrees, the words “Acute Angle” appear.
When the angle formed is exactly 90 degrees, the words “Right Angle” appear.
For any angle between 91 and 179 degrees, the words “Obtuse Angle” appear.
When the angle formed is exactly 180 degrees, the words “Straight Angle” appear.
For any angle between 181 and 359 degrees, the words “Reflex Angle” appear.
When the angle formed is exactly 360 degrees, the words “Full Rotation” appear.
