Lesson Plan: Scaling Down, Scaling Up
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Print Lesson PlanOverview
Students learn about scaling an object, first smaller (1/10) and then larger (2x). This Cyberchase activity is motivated by two video clips in which the CyberSquad travels to Proporciona, where they visit a land of giants and a land of tiny people (similar to Gulliver's Travels).
Grade Level:
4-7Suggested Time
1 hour
Media Resources
In a Land of Giants QuickTime VR Video
Island of the Little QuickTime Video
Materials
Handout: Scale Down and Scale Up
Assessment: Level A
Assessment: Level B
Answer Key
The Lesson
Part I: Part I: Learning Activity
1. Read the following to set up the activity: "The CyberSquad is trapped in Proporciona, where all the places and the people are 10 times larger than the kids. They need to warn MotherBoard of yet another plot by Hacker, and to do so, they have to sail to an island. They measure a Proporcionan boat using blades of grass. The measurements are shown in Handout 1."
2. Distribute the Handout: Scale Down and Scale Up .
3. Ask the students to answer questions 1 and 2 before they watch the first video segment.
4. Tell the students that they will watch a video clip in which the CyberSquad solves the problem of building a boat that will fit them.
5. Show the In a Land of Giants QuickTime VR Video .
6. Ask the students to discuss their answers to handout questions 1 and 2, especially their estimates of the size of a blade of grass.
7. Tell the students that they will now watch another video clip, and set it up with the following: "The CyberSquad travels to the island in their boat, in search of a portal to warn MotherBoard of the latest devious Hacker plot. On the island, however, the kids are the giants, 10 times larger than the islanders. One islander, Hank, and Digit's toy Cyberbird, Widget, team up to get to the portal in a cave across a river. Widget is twice as big as Hank. The kids build another boat 2x as big as Hank's boat for Widget to use to warn MotherBoard."
8. Ask the students to complete part 2 (question 3) of the handout before watching the second video segment.
9. Show Island of the Little QuickTime Video .
10. Ask the students to complete Part 3 of the handout, and then review their answers.
Part II: Part II: Assessment
Assessment: Level A (proficiency): Students are asked to figure out the circumference of a Giant's head and of Hank's head, based on the scale of the Giants' sizes to that of the CyberSquad, and the scale of the Little People's sizes to that of the CyberSquad.
Assessment: Level B (above proficiency): Students are presented with two stick figures, and height of one of the stick figures is given with two different scales (paper clips and buttons). Students are given the height of the other stick figure in one scale, and asked to figure out its height in the other scale. This is a classic proportional reasoning task.
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