Source: Cyberchase: “Size Me Up”
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Island of the Little
(Video)
National K -12 Subject:
Lesson Plans Using this Resource:
In this video segment from Cyberchase, the CyberSquad is trapped on Proporciona, a place where objects are 10 times larger than the kids. The CyberSquad needs to build a boat just like one that belongs to the giants, but ten times smaller. They find some model boat kits that belong to the giants and try to figure out which pieces are the right proportion and can be used together.
Download and ShareHere are some Frame, Focus and Follow-up suggestions for using this video in a math lesson.
What is Frame, Focus and Follow-up?
Frame: : Small models of boats and cars are popular with some collectors, and there are kits for model boats and cars that you can build yourself. The description on the box often mentions how such kits are “scale models,” and they list a scale on the box that looks like this: 1:16. What do you think these numbers might mean?
Focus: The CyberSquad finds some model boat kits and they try to put pieces from these kits together to create a boat that will fit them, but their plan doesn’t work out at first. What does the squad do to make sure they have the right size pieces? What do they know about scale that helps them?
Follow Up: What sort of measurements do the CyberSquad take to make sure their boat is the right size? If you were going to create a scale model of an ant for a science fair project and you wanted it to be five times larger than a real ant, how would you figure out how big to make your model?
JACKIE: I think we need to make our own boat! Just like this one, only one that fits our size.
MATT: Okay, what do we know?
INEZ: We know the scale of everything in this world is ten times larger than our world.
MATT: So to make a boat that'll fit us, we need to make it one tenth the size of this one! All we need are the parts.
DIGIT: You mean, like these...?
MATT: Cool! Model boat kits!
INEZ: This is perfect, Didge! All we need-
GIANT KID: Look at my boat! It's a racer!
MATT: Quick! Hide!
JACKIE: Oh no! More giants! These boat parts must belong to them!
MATT: Hey, it looks like they can't see us way over here!
JACKIE: Good. Then they won't mind if we borrow their leftovers for a while!
INEZ: Yeah! All we need are a couple of sides, a bottom and a back! Let's do it!
MATT: Two sides!
INEZ: I've got a back!
DIGIT: I got the oars!
JACKIE: And I've got the bottom section! This is going to be a piece of cake!
DIGIT: A piece of cake, huh? I don't think so.
JACKIE: Something is definitely off here.
INEZ: It sure is. The back's way too big!
MATT: And the bottom's way too small!
JACKIE: No wonder these parts don't fit together - each part came from a different sized scale model!
DIGIT: Now what??
MATT: What we need to do is measure the giant's boat so we can figure out exactly how big to make ours. These blades of grass are all about the same length. We can use them like rulers.
MATT: Inez, you measure the sides. Jax, you do the bottom. Didge, you do the back. and I'll write it all down! Okay, here's what we've got: The sides of the big boat measure forty grass blades long and ten high. The sides of our boat need to be one-tenth of that.
INEZ: Check! This side is four grass blades long... And one blade high...one-tenth of the big boat. The perfect proportion!
MATT: Cool! The big boat has a bottom that's forty grass blades long and twenty wide. Let's find a match.
JACKIE: I think I got one! It needs to be four grass blades long, which is one-tenth of forty...and two wide, which is one-tenth of twenty! ETS, guys! Exactly to scale!
MATT: All we need now is a back. The back on the big boat is ten grass blades high and twenty wide.
DIGIT: I got the back, I got the back! It's two grass blades wide - and two high!
JACKIE: I'm afraid that's too big, Didge. Your width is right but your height is wrong. One-tenth of ten is one - not two.
DIGIT: I knew that. I was just testing you.
INEZ: This one's the right size! One high...two wide, and one-tenth scale! Let's start building!
HACKER: Yes! The Poddles...Wicked, Binary, Two-Headed Sam... Even those plump little pigs from Happily-Ever- After! They'll all be here!
BUZZ: Oh gee, Boss, that's great! I can't wait to see 'em!
DELETE: Yeah, uh, tell us again why they're coming?
HACKER: To pay homage to the new ruler of cyberspace...
BUZZ: Nobody'll come for that!
HACKER: Yours Truly! He glances behind him.
DELETE: They may come to see that!
HACKER: I'll be right back!
JACKIE: Okay guys, the sides and bottom fit. Let's see about the back!
MATT: Touchdown!
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