For the last 9 years, I’ve had students do a Trig project where they use handmade clinometers to measure the height of an object taller than they are. I love this project because it shows the application of Trig and guides students through a thought process to solve this type of problem.
This year I wanted to shake things up a bit. I wanted them to do the same project, but this time I wanted them to write an angle of elevation word problem. Students struggle with the word problems, and writing them helps them understand the process and required information.
As always, I was blown away by the creativity of some of my students. Their word problems were hilarious! They were problems I would WANT to solve. I took a few and used them on our assessment.
Since we had a recent ice storm, pictures had to be taken inside. It was Homecoming week, so we had some interesting backdrops. Students used the HOCO decorations and wrote their stories around them. Aren’t kids great?
Angle of depression is still giving us issues so maybe next year I’ll have them measure something below them. Maybe from the bleachers or the top of the steps. Hmm… food for thought!
Make Math Not Suck 
Love it! I used to do something similar but they just created a problem off the top of their head. I like the real application, pictures, and how they labeled everything. Great job!
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I like the idea of students making their own word problems! I wish this was something I had gotten to do more when I was in high school. I’m in college and still struggle to understand angle of elevation sometimes, so maybe this type of activity would have been good for me to do in high school!
I think that having students make their own problems can definitely help increasing understanding about the problems. I’m going to be student teaching next semester so I hope to try this type of activity out!
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