Estimating the area of an irregular shape

Inviato da György_Éva il Gio, 10/09/2020 - 20:36

General Info


Estimating the area of an irregular shape
Abstract

The ” Estimating the area of an irregular shape” CLIL lesson and STEAM activity were held for international groups (Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia) in the framework of the Eramus + Strategic Partnership for Schools project “MathsAlive”. This activity beautifully combines the practical application of mathematics with learning about the natural beauties of our area.


Lingua
English
Disciplina STEAM
Matematica
Mathematics Area/Topic
Calculus and analysis
Geometry and topology
Licenza
CC BY-NC-SA

Audience and Educational Framework


Pubblico
Studenti
Competenza del pubblico
Capace
Livello di istruzione (EQF)
4
Fascia d'età
15-19
Quadro educativo/formativo
Scuola superiore/ liceo

Educational Details


Materia scolastica
Mathematics
Descrizione della pratica

Students have been organized into small groups so that each country was represented in each group. The groups have chosen a name for themselves.

In the introduction we have talked about the concept and measurement of area, and then we have discussed it with guidance that using the area of a triangle and a square, the areas of irregular shapes can be calculated approximately. For curved-bounded shapes, a calculation is usually required to calculate the area.

All things discussed were illustrated with a small video.

Lake St. Anne and its legend has been presented with the purpose of getting to know the area. This example combined mathematics and local knowledge nicely.

Each student has received two scaled-down copy of a map of Lake Saint Anne, on which they made the edits using two methods.

During the first method, students have used the area of a unit square and performed approximate calculations. The results have discussed within the group and then reported and summarized in a table.

With the second method, the area formula of the triangle has been used which gives two sides and the enclosed angle. These results were also summarized and compared with previous results and data known in reality.

Of course, the students used geometric tools, tablets for the approximate calculations.


Durata
3 ore
Difficoltà
Media difficoltà
Uso educativo
assignment, group work

Risultati dell'apprendimento

According to the opinions and evaluations of the teachers involved in the activity and the enthusiasm of the students involved, we can conclude that the activity was successful and achieved its goal:

  • to define the area of a surface;
  • to calculate with a good approximation the area of an area divided into unit squares;
  • to use correctly the formula for calculating the area of a triangle;
  • to calculate with a good approximation the area of the same surface divided into triangles;
  • to use geometric tools with skill

The calculated results of the different teams can be tracked in an attached file.


Orientamento/Focus
Sviluppare nuove competenze
Modalità di consegna
Apprendimento in presenza


Implementation

(where and how the practice was implemented)


Paese che è stato implementato
Romania
Organizzazione a cui è stato applicato
"Salamon Ernő" Hight School
Dimensione del pubblico
30

Valutazione e lezioni apprese

The students participated the class enthusiastically. They were happy to apply their theoretical knowledge: they performed approximate calculations using both methods. At the end of the class, it was a great satisfaction for them if the results of the calculation and the data given by reality were roughly the same.

Their English knowledge and level of mathematics differed, but this is understandable as students were from 4 different countries with 4 different education systems.


Educational material/resources (file/URL) accompanying the practice


Materiale didattico/risorse

License
CC BY-NC-SA
Language

Inglese

Educational Resource File
Allegato Dimensione
Estimating area of an irregular shape.pdf 823.65 KB

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