In this activity, students work in groups to produce a proposal for a new playground at their school. They begin by gathering data on what students at their school would like to have in a playground, use the Internet to pick out the equipment they will include, and draw up a blueprint of the playground. Finally, they create a portfolio to present to the class, trying to persuade their classmates of the value of their plan. The activity guide leads students through the task in an orderly manner.
This could be organized as a very elaborate, long-term project, bringing in content from many areas of mathematics. In particular, there is a fair bit of geometry and measurement involved as they work on arranging the equipment to fit into a limited space, leaving enough room for safety. The project can be readily scaled back to fit various needs. Students are likely to find this an interesting and engaging activity that shows the usefulness of mathematics in a real world setting.
First Posted: 7/31/2001
Last Submitted: 2/26/2001 3:23:47 PM
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Homesite Description - This resource is contained in the following Web site
WebQuests
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This site provides math Webquests that involve work in cooperative groups where students work together in a constructivist setting to explore and understand mathematics. These Webquests involve reasoning and critical thinking by data collection on the Web and data analysis to use this information to reach conclusions or answer questions.
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http://www.wfu.edu/~mccoy/NCTM00/examples.html
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