Ratio underpins so much mathematics in our real world that it deserves occasional return visits. These sites deal mainly with making and building and constructing; mathematically, they concentrate on scale factor, a topic chosen by NCTM as a Focal Point for Grade 7. The very last site is just for teachers who may want a refresher at the professional level on basic but essential concepts. Please let us know any of your favorite sites for exploration!
All About Ratios
Designed to introduce the concept of ratio at the most basic level, this activity could open the idea to younger middle school students. Each multiple-choice problem shows sets of colorful elements and asks students to choose the one that matches the given ratio. The activity is from the collection titled Mathematics Lessons that are Fun! Fun! Fun!
Statue of Liberty
This activity asks students to determine if the statue’s nose is out of proportion to her body size. It carefully describes the mathematics involved in determining proportion, then goes on to pose problems on enlarging a picture, designing HO gauge model train layouts, and analyzing the size of characters in Gulliver’s Travels. The page features links to a solution hint, the solution, related math questions, and model building resources. Other ratio problems in the Figure This! Series include Tern Turn, Capture Re-Capture, Drip Drops, and Which Tastes Juicier?
Understanding Rational Numbers and Proportions
To work well with ratios, learners need a solid basis in the idea of rational number. This complete lesson includes three well-developed activities that investigate fractions, proportion, and unit rates—all through real-world problems students encounter at a bakery.
Scaling Away
For this one-period lesson, students bring to class either a cylinder or a rectangular prism, and their knowledge of how to find surface area and volume. They apply a scale factor to these dimensions and investigate how the scaled-up model has changed from the original. Activity sheets and overheads are included, as well as a complete step-by-step procedure and questions for class discussion.
Size and Scale
A more challenging and thorough activity on the physics of size and scale! The final product is a scale model of the Earth-moon system, but the main objective is understanding the relative sizes of bodies in our solar system and the problem of making a scale model of the entire solar system. The site contains a complete lesson plan, including motivating questions for discussion and extension problems.
Golden Rectangle (grades 6-8)
This virtual manipulative can help students visualize the golden rectangle. It shows how a golden rectangle is generated by using the golden ratio (the ratio of the longer side to the shorter side of a golden rectangle) to create smaller and smaller golden rectangles within an initial rectangle. Instructions for using this online manipulative are included on the site.
Similarity
In this workshop session, elementary and middle school teachers explore scale drawing, similar triangles, and trigonometry in terms of ratios and proportion. Besides explanations and real-world problems, the unit includes video segments that show teachers investigating problems of similarity. To understand the ratios that underlie trigonometry, participants use an interactive activity provided online. This is session 8 of Learning Math: Geometry, a free online course.
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We want and need your ideas, suggestions, and observations. What would you like to know more about? What questions have your students asked? We invite you to share with us and other readers by posting your comments. Please check back often for our newest posts or download the RSS feed for this blog. Let us know what you think and tell us how we can serve you better. We appreciate your feedback on all of our Middle School Portal 2 publications. You can also email us at msp@msteacher.org. Post updated 12/09/2011.