Link to Student Page

Introduction

The design of a flower bed---whether for an office building, park, school, or backyard--requires many mathematical skills. Measurement, scale drawing, estimation, and, of course, computation or total cost make this project both interesting and comprehensive.

Upon completion of the project, students will no doubt gain a better understanding of plants and flower beds, and may even wish to design a flower bed for their own home.

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Content Area and Grade Level

This is a mathematics project for grades 9-12. It is designed to cover geometry and could also involve science. The lesson can easily be adapted to additional grades and subjects.

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Curriculum Standards

The students will learn:

• To use geometric shapes to design a flower bed
• To use a scale to make a diagram
• To estimate costs and planning within a budget
• To calculate with money and make an itemized tally of expenses

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Implementation Overview

Given a budget and a list of plants from which to choose, groups are to design a flower bed and calculate what the total cost will be. The suggested time is 3 to 4 class periods. The project can be used as math only or math and science together.

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Resources Needed

• Ruler
• Graph Paper
• Measuring Tape
• Yardstick
• Crayons of Colored Markers
• Student Guide Sheets
• List of Facts and Prices of Selected Plants(if Internet is not available)
• Centimeter grid for Sketches
• Computer
• Printer

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Entry Level Skills and Knowledge

The learners need to know how to find the area of various geometric shapes; namely the rectangle, the square, the circle, and the trapezoid.

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Evaluation

The students will be evaluated mainly on their ability to design the most cost effective flower bed.

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Possible Variations

You may want to have students design a real flower bed for the school, or one for home. Invite a nursery representative to speak to the class about how flower beds are designed. Estimate the cost of maintaining the flower bed throughout the year by including the costs of fertilizer, water, weed and bug killer, and possible replacement of plants.

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CONCLUSION

Hopefully, the implementation of this project will sharpen the students' visual perception, stimulate their imaginations, and enhance their sense of relationships.

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