Make Room!

A WebQuest for 7th-8th Grade Math



Introduction | Tasks | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits | Teacher Advice


Introduction:

It's a sad day because you're moving--but only two blocks away.  Your old house is just too small.  The exciting part is that you get to furnish the upstairs all by yourself!  The upstairs consists of 2 bedrooms (yours and your brother's), a miscellaneous room (to do anything you want with), and 2 closets.  Your task is to find the best paint, wallpaper, carpet, tile, and furniture in the colors, designs, styles, and products that will be most appropriate for you-- keep your brother in mind, also.  The problem is that you're on a budget of $2,500.00 and dad, who likes to be called your CFO- chief financial officer, wants to know how much everything costs, so keep track of everything you buy.  And remember to look and figure your dimensions--don't buy too much!


The Tasks:

O.K. you are on your own.  You've been given a huge responsibility, but you can handle it.  Now,  you will need to examine the Floor Plan in order  to calculate the perimeter of the rooms and the area.  Then you will need to choose products that you think would be best for you, but remember to look at the prices (you're on a budget).  You will need to do the following to each of the rooms:

carpet/tile the floor,

paint and/or wallpaper the walls and ceiling,

choose furniture and accessories for decorating the rooms (including
               windows),

then, make a spreadsheet for dad--oops, the CFO.

The Process:

In order to complete this task you will need to complete each of the steps listed below:

1. Look at the floor plan.  Then print a dimension sheet.

2. Next, you will begin calculating the perimeter of each room and the area of each wall, ceiling, and floor.  Remember, when doing calculations you will need to take into consideration any doors or windows. Make sure you keep these dimensions on hand, because you will need them when figuring the amount of supplies you will need. (Save money, don't go over the budget).

3. Choose the products you want to include in your proposal.  Make sure you list where you chose the suggested items, and the prices on a spreadsheet to print and submit to your CFO (dad).  (If spreadsheet does not appear, please look for the task bar at the bottom of the screen.)  Listed below are some sites you may wish to visit:
 
Links for Carpet/ Tile
 Smart Internet Guide to Carpet/ Tile
Carpet Corner
Kid's Carpet

 
Links for Paint
 Benjamin Moore
 Porter Paints
 Sherwin Williams
 
Links for Wallpaper
 WallpaperWallpaper
 The Internet Wallpaper Store
Wallpaper Guide
 
Furniture
 Yahoo! Shopping
 Pier 1
 Haverty's
4. Put your proposal together. Make sure your spreadsheet includes the following:

all room dimensions,
prices, descriptions & places (websites) to purchase the items.

5. For more practice, play an area and perimeter game.

The Evaluation:

The following rubric will be used in evaluating your proposal:

 
Beginning

1

 Developing

2

 Accomplished

3

 Exemplary

4

 Score
Area and Perimeter
Student recognized calculations needed to be made in conjunction with the floor plan.
Student attempted to make calculations in conjunction with the floor plan.
Student was partially able to calculate problems connected with the floor.
Student was able to successfully calculate all problems connected with  the floor plan correctly.
  
Furnishings
Student was unable to get on the Internet and find furnishings.
Student was     somewhat able to get on the Internet and find some furnishings. 
Student was able to partially search the Internet and find most furnishings  for
his/her project.
Student was successfully able to search the Internet and find all  furnishings for the entire upstairs .
Purchase
 Justification
 Paper (Spreadsheet)
Student was unable to describe purchases for his/her project.
Student was somewhat able to describe purchases for his/ her project.
Student was able to describe purchases for his/her project.
Student was successfully able to describe all purchases for his/her project.
  
Budget
Student was unable to add purchases and was unaware of the budget. 
Student was able to add all purchases with disregard to a budget.
Student was able to add all purchases while moderately going over the budget.
Student was successfully able to add all purchases and stay within the given budgets.
  

Conclusion:

After successfully completing this WebQuest, you will have applied your understanding of area & perimeter to a real life situation.  Not only have you mastered linear & square measurement, but you have researched the items that you purchased, made a spreadsheet, remained within a specified budget, and you were able to justify all of your Internet spending.

Credits & References:

A special thanks to Tonya Massey for the wonderful Middle School Mathematics WebQuest that I was able to use as a guide.  Also, thanks to Mary McDaniel for the guidance and patience as my Computer Buddy.

Teacher Advice:

This lesson is anchored in seventh grade mathematics and involves computer skills.  This WebQuest can also be extended to eighth grade mathematics.

Prior to his lesson, students should know how to figure area and perimeter and use a computer and the Internet efficiently.

This project would be used to reinforce area and perimeter, computer skills would also be integrated.  After this project is introduced and explained, it will be a self-paced and may require more than one class period to get everyone on a computer and time to get done.

The tasks and procedures are pretty straight forward, the only problem that I foresee is that it is self-paced and some students may not be self-motivated.  I would definitely specify a deadline to eliminate any time problems.

This project is very straight forward for any teacher.  A teacher introducing this would need to know how to get around on a computer and search the Internet.

A good way to get this lesson complete is to integrate it into computer lab time, only if a class is not furnished to equip everyone with a computer.

One teacher per classroom is sufficient for this WebQuest.


 

Created for EDU 506 @ FHU School of Education by Amanda Pearcy on July 24, 2001.