Snapshot: 7B Playing Card Proportions Project

 In seventh grade, the students applied their knowledge of ratios, proportions, and scale to a project where they had to produce a scaled version of a regular playing card. The purpose of the project was to have the students apply their understanding of proportions to a real task and for students to develop an appreciation for the feature on tablets and phones where they can just pinch to enlarge and/or shrink a map or image. These are seemingly simple features that require a great deal of mathematics to make functional and accurate. 

I like this project because there are many ways for students to customize their experiences and provide differentiation. They could add difficulty in the value of the card, the suit, the scale factor, and whether or not they did the whole or just part of the card. Artistic ability is not required to succeed on this assignment, but it is an opportunity for those who have an interest in artistic expression to share their interest. It brings a little color and fun to the walls of the classroom!