Svager Lesson Plan Upper Level

Svager Lesson Plan Upper Level

Dr. Thyrsa Svager is one of the seven Black mathematicians to have earned a PhD in mathematics from The Ohio State University.

On her master’s thesis, she explored the problem of describing the numbers that can be represented as the sum of two, three or four squares. Here, the word “squares” refers to square numbers or perfect squares, that is, numbers that result from the product of an integer with itself. In this activity, students explore some of the concepts on Dr. Svager’s thesis through a board game.

We designed two different board games on the topic. The lesson plan for upper level grades is a complex strategy game. You could also use the simpler games with older students if you think that might suit your class better.

Lesson Details

Grade level: 8th to 12th

Estimated time: 70 minutes

Form of work: Pairs

Ohio Math Standard:

  • 4.OA.4 Gain familiarity with factors and multiples.
  • 8.EE.1 Understand, explain, and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions. 

Math concepts: factors, multiples, prime numbers, powers, squaring, prime factorization

This activity is also available as lesson plan for lower grades (K to 3) and as ready-to-print worksheet.

Two girls playing the sum of squares game.
Two boys and a man playing the sum of squares game
Two girls and a woman playing the sum of squares game.

Filters: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, squaring, prime numbers, prime factorization, powers, multiples, game, Between 60 and 90 minutes