Students work in groups to design an island with at least six landmarks. They indicate a starting point on the map and a unit of linear measure with a key at the base of the map. The map is used as a game board. The game involves estimating linear measurement and angle of turn to trace a path around the island, visiting each of the landmarks, and returning to the starting point. The groups then analyze the strategies they used in preparing the map scale and in playing the game.
Procedure
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1. Setup: Cooperative groups-Each group will need Group card, Rule Card, poster board, a coin, a straightedge, and a protractor.
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2. Implementation: Introduce the lesson to the students. Point out that the rules for the game are on the Rule Card. Make sure students understand how to measure the angle of turn. You may want to suggest path. Point out that the direction the person face before turning is considered 0 degree ; the angle of turn is the turn they make to face the new direction. Some students may indicate the direction of the turn using words like “turn right 50 degree” while other may use compass directions, as in “turn southeast 50 degree.” Students work in their groups to create a map. Then they exchange maps with another group and play the game on the map. After playing the game, they analyze their strategies.
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You may want to ask students to repeat this lesson several times by changing the unit of linear measurement used. This requires students to adjust their estimates of lengths. You could also require them to visit the landmarks in the opposite order.
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3. Processing the Lesson
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Lead a discussion about the lesson. A few questions may be useful in stimulating discussion.
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“What strategies for estimating lengths were most useful?”
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“Did a larger or smaller unit of measure change the strategy you used to play the game?”
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“What strategies did you use for estimating the angle of turn?”
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“How could you estimate direction changes for a real-life path?”
Journal Prompts
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The following journal prompts may be used with this lesson.
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“The mathematics I used in this lesson included. . .”
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“Would a long or a short unit of measure result in more accurate estimates? Explain?
Answers
There is no single correct answer for this lesson. However, students should be able to make a convincing argument to support their conclusions.
