Tiered Worksheets

Rationale:

The use of these tiered worksheets is based on Lev Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). This theory emphasizes the importance of scaffolding and differentiated instruction to accommodate diverse learning styles and abilities.  By providing leveled support, the goal is to help learners accomplish tasks that they struggle with independently. The green worksheet is the first level and in addition to basic instructions asking for solutions to a missing side or angle, it provides a mnemonic device (SOH-CAH-TOA) to help students remember the definitions of the trigonometric functions sine, cosine, and tangent. Further, the worksheet is sectioned off into categories, with the headings indicating which trig function the questions relate to. Next, the yellow sheet is the second level and in this sheet, students are given the same basic instructions however the mnemonic and headings are removed. This sheet requires students to now identify which trig ratio is appropriate for the given question. Finally, the blue sheet is the third level and questions are now in the form of word problems. This requires students to potentially construct a visual where necessary, in addition to identifying which trig ratio is needed. The final question on this sheet consolidates all the topics covered in the three worksheets as it needs students to identify the appropriate trig ratio and then use some critical thinking to first determine a missing side, which is then needed to find a missing angle.