Mapmaking 2.2: MS & Upper Elementary

 Hi all,

We had very fun classes today! 

In the middle school class, we learned about drawing circles freehand by using the center and drawing marks at the tangents after counting spaces the length of the radius. Then the kids practiced drawing orthographic projections (3 view drawing of a 3D object from different perspectives - front, top, side) of some isometric drawings that I prepared. An isometric drawing is a 3D drawing on a 2D surface (i.e. paper). All of the isometric drawings were on isometric paper, so the kids could find the correct dimensions for their ortho pictures. The iso pics also included circles and hidden lines, so the kids got to practice the major different line types they learned about last week. Finally, we reversed the process: they kids got a worksheet with five different ortho projections, and they had to draw the iso drawing. They did a great job. It takes practice, and I had a box of blocks (thank you, Liesl) for them to build the object if it was difficult to picture in the mind. HOMEWORK: finish the second page of iso projections.

The UE class worked on a “proportion” project. I still haven’t found a great way to explain/define what it means for something to be “proportional” without using the word “ratio.” But I think they understood. We had a line drawing of a cat, cut into twelve pieces (the kids only saw the cut up pieces) and everyone chose one square to enlarge on a much bigger piece of paper. Once everyone was done, they put the pieces together to see what the larger picture was. Then compared it to the original. We spent the rest of the class making “micro parks.” A couple of kids chose to work on their own, and the rest paired up. We used the church’s old playroom floor mats (which are square shaped) and chalk, paper, blocks, and each group created a park with specific criteria: a defined border, an entrance with road going in, a parking lot, a nature trail (with 2 exercise stations, 2 special features, and two nature stations), a water feature, a picnic area, a restroom, and a name for the park. After they finished, they made a key for their micropark maps. It was a fun and creative exercise. The kids did an excellent job, and we are moving closer to combining all of the skills needed for our final project. I got some good pics!

-Sarah B.