Alex Prager, Aggie Karafas

Fancy Farms and Spicy Scaling

Mathematics Learning Objectives:
● Students will be able to scale the side lengths of quadrilaterals and shapes with more than
four sides.
● Students will be able to compute the area of a figure, to that of a scaled version of the
same figure.
● Students will be able to create scaled representations of geometric figures.

Language Objectives:
● Students will be able to identify the effect that scaling side lengths has on the area of a
quadrilateral.
● Students will be able to describe the properties of area both geometrically and
algebraically.
● Students will be able to use correct and precise mathematical vocabulary to describe their
mathematical process and findings.

Essential Question:
How does scaling side lengths of a quadrilateral change the area and surface area? How about for
a shape with more than six sides?

Common Core State Mathematics Standards:

● CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.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.
● CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.G.B.6
○ Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, volume and surface area of
two- and three-dimensional objects composed of triangles, quadrilaterals, polygons,
cubes, and right prisms.

Materials:
● Laptops or other devices that support Geogebra
● Worksheet (see appendix)
● Paper and pencil (optional)

Notes to the reader:

● Assume that students have experience with working in Geogebra
● Assume that students are familiar with the current content topics being covered. These
key topics might include properties of shapes, constructions, perimeter, area, surface area.
● Plan this lesson for a 90 minute block.
 Alex Prager, Aggie Karafas

Detailed Plan for Instructional Time:

Time What is the teacher doing? What are students doing?

Introduce Task:
5 Say, “Alright students, today we’re going to be Students will be listening to the
min learning about how scaling affects the area of a teacher introduce the task.
shape.”
When asked, students will be
getting out their device or
Say, “Take 5 minutes to think about what you borrowing one from the front if they
know about area and scaling. Turn to your don’t have one.
neighbor and brainstorm how you might think
area could be affected by scaling.” When asked, students will get into
groups, if they want to work
**Students can work in groups of 2 or three. Or, together, after everyone has
if they choose, students can work alone too. You received a worksheet and gotten a
can let students pick their groups or partner device.
students based on their initial brainstorms**

**Pass out the worksheet to students. Either one

per student or one per group.**

**Ask students to get out computers/devices if

not out already. Or to go borrow a device from
the front of the classroom.**

**Write link to Geogebra on the front wipe

board or display it for students using a
projector.**

Say, “Alright now that everyone has a device

and a worksheet, open up Geogebra classic
using the link provided and you can start
investigating the worksheet!”

Checking Understanding:
10 **These questions and guiding notes are
min optional. The purpose is to help the flow of the
lesson, check student understanding, and to
make sure students are on the right path in their
Students will be working on task 1
on the worksheet either alone or in
groups or two or three. Students
will be working out the problems
 Alex Prager, Aggie Karafas

investigations of the tasks. The questions could using Geogebra.

be asked at the beginning, end, or intermittently
while students work on the tasks.**
Ask the following questions,
Q1: “Who can remind me what the properties of
a quadrilateral are?”
Q2: Now who can remind me what properties
makes a quadrilateral a square, if the figure has
those properties?”
Q3: “What does it mean for a shape to have
parallel sides?”
The students will be engaged with
the teacher when they start asking
the concept checking questions.
Possible student answers,
Q1: “Quadrilaterals have four sides
and the sum of all their interior
angles add up to 360 degrees.”
Q2: “A square has four sides that
are the same length. And opposite
sides are parallel!”

Q4: “Who can tell me how we can scale the side Q3: “Parallel sides mean that those
length of a figure?” two sides will never intersect!”

Q5: “What properties can change and what stays Q4: “We just have to use a
the same when we scale the sides of a figure?” multiplier on the side lengths. If we
use a whole number we would
increase the size. We could shrink
the shape if we use a multiplier that
is a fraction.”

Q5: “The side lengths, perimeter,

and area all change! The interior
angles of the figure will stay the
same.”

Student Investigations:
45 **The teacher should be monitoring student **Student worksheet provided in
min progress with the tasks and answering student appendix A**
questions as they arise.**

**The teacher can ask the checking
understanding questions during this time, as
written in the section above, to make sure that
students are on the right path.**
Say, “Remember to screenshot your
constructions and answers in Geogebra! You’ll
The students will be using this time
to work on tasks 1-3 of the
worksheets alone or in their groups.
Students will also be investigating
their original prediction of how
 Alex Prager, Aggie Karafas

be needing them to justify your answers later in scaling affects the area of a figure,
your discussion posts!” as well as new theories they may
have about this relationship.
**Optional Differentaiton: If needed, adjust the
recuirements of Task 2 and Task 3 to meet the
specific needs of the students. For example,
increase the complexity of the requirements for
students who excel in this topic, and simplify
the requirements for those who may struggle.**

Discussion:
20 **The teacher can start a class discussion on Students will be answering the
min student findings. The teacher can highlight discussion questions on padlet. As
specific figures the students created, methods well as to share and discuss their
used, as well as what relationships students findings with the rest of the class.
might have found between scaling and area.**
Students will justify their answers
**Optional: This discussion can be done in using screenshots from their
class, or online using Padlet.** Geogebra investigations. Students
will also be analyzing the findings
Say, “Alright students, it’s time to move away of their classmates too.
from Geogebra and now discuss our findings!
We’ll be using Padlet today to share our
solutions to Farmer Jack’s problem. As well as
what we have found regarding the relationship
between scaling and area!”

Say, “Take about five or so minutes to create

your Padlet post and answer the discussion
questions. Be sure to justify your conclusions
and provide screenshots as evidence from your
Geogebra investigations!”

**The teacher could be reading through the

posts that students post to Padlet. As well as
make suggestions to students on important
things to remember in their post, such as units of
measurements and to use the correct
mathematical vocabulary related to this topic.”
 Alex Prager, Aggie Karafas

**Optional but recommended: The teacher

could select students to explain their answers in
more depth to the rest of the class or to
demonstrate the methods used to find their
answers. The teacher could also select students
to discuss how they came to their conclusions
about the relationship between scaling and area.
If this is done, then the teacher could help bring
students to a higher understanding by ordering
the presentations in increasing complexity.**

**The above note is also a way to differentiate

the lesson by helping students learn from
example and by their peers.**

**If there is time remaining, the teacher could

ask students if there is any group that wanted to
share their findings or interesting things they
discovered about the relationship between
scaling and area. Or students could share their
solutions and methods to Farmer Jack’s task.**

Review:
10 **This is extra time for the teacher to answer
min additional questions that students might have
that weren’t addressed in the discussion.**

**This section can also act as buffer time in

case some sections take more or less time.**

Appendix
A) Student worksheet
● https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T3e0taZNDAEy3iyYFi7Z74pVgT5SVQM
JnknS3K9xhHU/edit?usp=sharing

B) Completed worksheet with acceptable answers

● https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fEMY814vi9C6b87IAQBl_eVIDY0WM57
q097YtCR2g6g/edit?usp=sharing
 Alex Prager, Aggie Karafas

C) Link to Padlet
● https://padlet.com/

D) Link to Geogebra Classic

● https://www.geogebra.org/classic