4th and 5th grade Studio

In 5th grade this week we focused on finding the area of rooms. They did not have graph paper to follow arrays, they had plain squares of complex rectangles and squares in which to find the area. They worked on an assignment to show me they understood the concept of finding area (we talked about why it is so important to understand this concept if you are an architect or contractor). We finished class by grading the sheet. Many had missed the problems, not because of they didn't understand area, but because they made mistakes with their multiplication. =) Next week we will begin looking at how to draw figures to scale.

In 4th grade we started learning how to draw figure to scale. We discussed that in order to draw a 4000 square foot home on a sheet of paper, we would have to scale down the measurements. We talked about how we need to keep all of the dimensions the same, but just make the scale smaller. So, we used a piece of graph paper and agreed that we would make the scale so that each square on the paper would represent one square inch and be equal to one square foot. So we drew the measurements for certain rectangles that were 3 feet by 6 feet, etc...

Then students measured items in the room and drew them to scale. For instance they measured the white board, or the tables, or bookshelves and then had to draw them with the scale of 1 sq. inch = 1 sq. foot. For the most part, students understood and were able to draw the concept correctly. However, when they tried to measure my laptop- which was just over a foot- it became a bit confusing. Once we drew it out, I believe the majority had a solid understanding of the concept.

We will continue to reveiw this concept and next week they will begin creating their Footprint Library that they will use when designing their house.