Geometry Kite Making
Search for a kite you’d like to build. It can be any shape kite, but keep in mind that the easier the build, the more difficult I grade it. The harder it is to build, the more chance it won’t be completed in time. So evaluate yourself & the directions to determine which kite you decide on building. a. Google the web (not videos, nor images) – “How to build a kite with step by step directions” … You can word your search in any way that is similar to what I just gave you. Be sure what you pull up has Step by Step Directions on how to build the kite (i. e. t will tell exactly how & where to cut the material, where to place the dowels, where to tie the string, etc, etc).
Be sure what you pull up has Clear Materials Listed – meaning you will be able to list off what is needed to build a kite (i. e. exact centimeters or inches of dowels, the diameter of the dowel, if plastic tubing is needed, string length, etc, etc). Print all this out – preferably with photos (always helpful when building). Write up a materials list with the totals (dowel length, string length, fabric, etc) on a lined piece of paper so that it’s legible.
This is for me to go shopping with, so I need the exact total & I need to read it. I’m not interested in how many ___ sized pieces of dowel you need because we’ll just cut up the total length later; I just need you to calculate from your internet, printed materials list the exact totals of each item. Build your kite – we’ll be doing this in class as a group. You won’t be taking any of these items home, so you need to make sure you are here for each class we designate as build days.
Each “build day” you will need: yard stick (science lab has some), pencil, pen, lined paper for calculations, calculator, ruler, protractor, kite instructions & a servant’s heart (because we’ll need to bring other items to & from my classroom each of these days = teamwork). Measure the perimeter & area of your kite, once completed. Were there any angles in your kite? What types; how many; what degrees were they (calculate algebraically being sure to write down how you calculated … same side interior, complementary angles, etc. )?
Are there any parallel &/or perpendicular lines? Transversal lines? As you build along, rewrite the steps in your own words so that someone else could build your kite. Use as many geometric terms as articulately possible.
Reason:
- I asked; and,
- the directions you find on the internet are often more complicated than need be, so you’ll be helping someone else out.
Maybe we’ll start our own website someday! Project items from the book: Page 453: You’ll need to draw diagonals on a plain, white sheet of copy paper using a yard stick for accuracy.
Mark off your half-inch measurement (the ½ inch past center point) with a pencil so that it’s visible to others. The “front corners” are considered the ones where you folded the paper, not the ones where it’s unfolded. **There is a “typo”: you’ll be folding the corners & stapling them about 3-4 in. from the front of the kite. You will staple those folds together perpendicularly to the first fold. ** Tie one end of string through the back of the staple. Open up the unfolded paper to create a kite surface. ~ You are not creating a paper airplane, and so therefore will follow these directions with the book’s directions to create a paper kite. ~~ k. Page 468: When “describing” each effective area, the book is asking you to compare the effective area to the actual kite (i. e. : does the effective area have the same area as the part of the kite that’s facing the wind; or less, or more; etc, etc). When you compare, do so in words (using as many geometrical terms as possible) as well as with some calculations.
Page 476: SKIP … this is what you did in Parts 1 & 2. ) REPORT: Research the history of kites, and be sure to write down your sources for use in a reference page later (when you hand in your final project). When were they first used? What were they used for? In what country did they first get used predominantly? Find examples of how kites were used for: rescuing sailors, vanquishing enemies, predicting the weather, etc. Give me any other uses for kites … be thorough & creative. Tell me any interesting facts you discovered about kites while doing this research.
