Draw It to Scale

5 min

Teacher Prep
Setup
2 minutes of quiet think time, followed by a whole-class discussion.

Narrative

This warm-up prepares students to create a scale floor plan of the classroom. Students brainstorm and make a list of the aspects of the classroom to include in a floor plan and the measurements to take.

Students are likely to note built-in fixtures, like walls, windows, and doors, as important components to measure. They may also include movable objects like furniture. As students work, identify those who list positions of objects (e.g., where a blackboard is on a wall, how far away the teacher’s desk is from the door, etc.). Invite them to share later.

Launch

Tell students that they will be creating a scale drawing of the classroom. Their first job is to think about which parts of the classroom to measure for the drawing. Give students 2 minutes of quiet think time to make a list, followed by 3 minutes of whole-class discussion. Ask students to be specific about the measurements they would include on the list.

Student Task

Which measurements would you need in order to draw a scale floor plan of your classroom? List which parts of the classroom you would measure and include in the drawing. Be as specific as possible.

Sample Response

Sample responses:

  • The lengths of walls
  • The size and location of windows and doors
  • The size and location of fixed and movable furniture
  • The measurements of different floor materials in the classroom
Activity Synthesis (Teacher Notes)

Invite students to share their responses with the class, especially those who included measurements between objects in their lists. Record and display students’ responses for all to see and to serve as a reference during the main activity. Consider organizing students’ responses by type rather than by items (e.g., listing “furniture” instead of “chairs,” “desks,” etc.). Some guiding questions:

  • “Which parts of the classroom must be included in a scale floor plan? Which parts are less important?”
  • “What measurements do we need?”
  • “In addition to the lengths of walls and objects, what else would be helpful to know?” (If no one mentioned the positions of objects, ask how we know where to place certain objects on the drawing.)
  • “Should we include vertical measurements? Why or why not?”
Standards
Addressing
  • 7.G.1·Solve problems involving scale drawings of geometric figures, including computing actual lengths and areas from a scale drawing and reproducing a scale drawing at a different scale.
  • 7.G.A.1·Solve problems involving scale drawings of geometric figures, including computing actual lengths and areas from a scale drawing and reproducing a scale drawing at a different scale.

15 min

15 min