Playground Designs

Playground Designs

Provide groups of students with the CurrentPlayground Design.

Have students take turns identifying the fractional parts of each area of the playground. Direct students to record the fractional areas onto their individual Current Playground Design. 

Note:  Students may ask whether or not the fractions should be written as a fraction of the section or of the whole playground.  This is an opportune time to lead a discussion. Allow students to discuss their question and come to a consensus as a group or as a class based on this discussion.

Give each group a copy of the FuturePlayground Design Guidelines (see attached). Have groups of students follow the Future Playground Design Guidelines to create the new playground design onto graph paper.  Although students are working as a group, each student should create a new playground design.

Note:  Students will be asking many clarifying questions.  Allow the students to ask the whole class for clarification. Allow students to discuss their views and understanding.  You may decide the whole class will need to come to a consensus or allow individual groups to develop their own.  However, students should be prepared to discuss support their reasoning in their written explanations in addition to clarifying any assumptions they have made.

Students should then follow-up the design process by individually responding to the questions found at the bottom of the FuturePlayground Design Guidelines.

Display the completed playground designs and rationales. 

Have students examine the solutions of the groups. As students are looking at the works of their peers, ask them to provide feedback to their peers in the form of guiding questions.  In other words, students should be writing questions that guide the playground designer to consider the accuracy of their work based on a given guideline.   

Have students review the questions asked by their peers. Ask students to reflect on the playground development process including the feedback received by their peers. 

Based on the Playground Problem developed by the Virginia Department of Education 2004

Mathematics Standards of Learning Enhanced Scope and Sequence. (2004). Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov