MISSION:  POSSIBLE

Mary Terhune                   Rachel Carson School
                               5516 S. Maplewood
                               Chicago IL 60629
                               (312) 535-9222

Objectives:

 -Grades 5-8
 -Students will covert scaled directions in inches to actual measurements in
  feet.
 -Students will correctly measure distances on an outdoor path.
 -Students will enlarge a section of a map 5:1.
 
Materials Needed:

 -scaled directions (one set per group)
 -calculators (one per group)
 -tape measures (one per group)
 -"microchips" (one per group)
 -map of IIT campus (one per group)
 -8 1/2 x 11 paper (one sheet per group)
 -rulers (one per group)
 -colored pencils

Strategy:

Divide students into groups of four or five.

Tell students they are on a mission:  In order to be hired as spies for an 
upcoming project, they must successfully complete the following task before it 
self-destructs in 50 minutes!

 1. Students are given four directions scaled in inches.

 2. Students convert these directions into actual measurements by using 
    proportions.

 3. Students measure the actual distances on an outside path that leads to a 
    hidden "microchip".

 4. Students exchange their "microchip" for a map of the IIT campus.

 5. Students enlarge a section of the map 5:1.

 6. Students plot their path on the enlarged map.
  
Performance Assessment:

Students enlarge a section of an IIT map 5:1, and then plot their path taken to
find the "microchip".

Students compare their maps to a master map, and are graded according to 
accuracy.