Kids think proportionally, even when they don't think they do.

Last year, as an end of year project, my students used a bunch of skills we had learned over the course of a year to create a Humongous Hero project. It was suggested by a fellow math teacher that parts of the project might be good as an inquiry project or as practice thinking proportionally.

We spent a day looking a ratios around our school and a day looking at basic proportions, since the idea of ratios and proportions are new to 6th graders. However, next time, I might just start with this first.

When they entered the classroom, there were multiple large hands around the room.  I told them a giant had broken in during the night and had left fingerprints in my room.  And I wanted to know how tall he was.  The only directives they had was that they could choose who they worked with and they use anything in the classroom in order to solve the problem.

 As you can see, they used each other, meter sticks, their own bodies, rulers, and even me to help solve the problem.  Once they had an answer, they had to explain to me how they solved it.  It was so cool to see how their brains thought and hear their processes.

We had a great wrap-up where I pointed out that they were thinking in terms of ratios and proportionality, even though really none of them solved the problem with proportions (as in using equivalent fractions).  I think it really tied in the idea of proportionality as something they do without really thinking and as something that they definitely need in real life.  This is definitely something I will do again!