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High School Grade  Project 1 week

Playground Architects: Shape, Space, and Savings

Micaela C
Updated
HS.G-MG.A.3
HS.G-MG.A.1
HS.F-BF.B.4
HS.G-CO.D.13
HS.G-CO.D.12
+ 5 more
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Purpose

Take on the Budget Playground Challenge using sample prices and a school budget. Ask: What shapes, measurements, and costs make a playground safe, fun, affordable, and best for school? Use geometry, multiplication, formal constructions, and inverse functions to solve space and cost problems. Geometry means studying shapes, sizes, and space. Create a finished scale plan with measurements, inscribed shapes, and costs for every playground part. Compare your first and final plans, then name one math skill you improved.

Learning goals

I can use geometry, measurement, and multiplication to design for safety, fun, space, and cost.
Geometry means shapes and space.
I can construct equilateral triangles, squares, regular hexagons inside circles, bisectors, and parallel or perpendicular lines.
I can model sample prices with functions and use inverse functions to meet budget limits.
I can present a finished scale drawing, accurate measurements, budget estimate, and costs for each part.
I can compare my first and final plans.
I can explain which math skill improved.

Standards
  • [Colorado] HS.G-MG.A.3 - Apply geometric methods to solve design problems (e.g., designing an object or structure to satisfy physical constraints or minimize cost; working with typographic grid systems based on ratios).
  • [Colorado] HS.G-MG.A.1 - Use geometric shapes, their measures, and their properties to describe objects (e.g., modeling a tree trunk or a human torso as a cylinder).
  • [Colorado] HS.F-BF.B.4 - Find inverse functions.
  • [Colorado] HS.G-CO.D.13 - (+) Construct an equilateral triangle, a square, and a regular hexagon inscribed in a circle.
  • [Colorado] HS.G-CO.D.12 - Make formal geometric constructions with a variety of tools and methods (compass and straightedge, string, reflective devices, paper folding, dynamic geometric software, etc.). *Copying a segment; copying an angle; bisecting a segment; bisecting an angle; constructing perpendicular lines, including the perpendicular bisector of a line segment; and constructing a line parallel to a given line through a point not on the line.*
Competencies
  • Collaboration - Students co-design projects with peers, exercise shared-decision making, strengthen relational agency, resolve conflict, and assume leadership roles.
  • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving - Students consider a variety of innovative approaches to address and understand complex questions that are authentic and important to their communities.
  • Effective Communication - Students practice listening to understand, communicating with empathy, and share their learning through exhibiting, presenting and reflecting on their work.
  • Academic Mindset - Students establish a sense of place, identity, and belonging to increase self-efficacy while engaging in critical reflection and action.
  • Content Expertise - Students develop key competencies, skills, and dispositions with ample opportunities to apply knowledge and engage in work that matters to them.

Products

Create an initial playground sketch using sample prices, site limits, and school needs.
Save peer feedback about your design’s safety, fun, cost, shapes, and measurements.
Include geometric constructions and inverse scale rules in your revised scale drawing.
Turn in a final design with exact dimensions and a detailed budget breakdown.
Add a before-and-after reflection showing one improved math skill and changed thinking.

Launch

Take the Budget Playground Challenge using a site map and sample equipment prices.
Mark the available space and note which ages and needs your design will serve.
Make a quick scale sketch using geometric shapes and measurements.
Calculate each cost by multiplying the quantity by its price.
Trade plans with a partner and note one suggestion you receive.

Exhibition

Display your finished playground plan, scale drawing, measurements, and itemized budget at a school design showcase.
Present how your shapes, measurements, and costs support a safe, fun, affordable design.
Answer questions from school leaders, families, and peers about space, age needs, and budget choices.
Share your before-and-after reflection, including one math skill you improved in the final design.