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Graph That
Skyscraper!

Subjects

Mathematics
--Applied Math
--Measurement
--Statistics
Science
----Physics

Grade

3-5
6-8
9-12

Brief Description

Students learn about skyscrapers and graph the height of the 10 tallest buildings in the world (or in the United States).

Objectives

Students will

  • learn about skyscrapers;
  • explore facts and figures about the worlds tallest buildings;
  • graph the height of the 10 tallest buildings in the world (or in the United States).

Materials Needed

Lesson Plan

Provide students with the following background: When it was completed in 1974, the Sears Tower, at 1451 feet high, was the tallest building in the world. In 2010, the Willis Tower, as the Sears Tower is known today, is only the eighth tallest building in the world. In fact, the worlds tallest building, the 2717 foot tall Burj Khalia in Dubai, is nearly twice as tall as Willis Tower.

Encourage students to explore The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat for more information on skyscrapers. Then have them go to the 100 tallest completed buildings in the world and graph the height of the 10 tallest buildings in the world (or in the United States).
Note: The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat provides a great deal of interesting information on skyscrapers, as well as lots of real life" material for classroom math problems and activities.

Extension Activity: Encourage students to discuss and/or debate these questions: How tall can or should office buildings or apartment houses be? What purpose do skyscrapers serve? Do we still need them? What are the advantages and disadvantages of very tall buildings?

Assessment

Assess students based on the quality of their graphs.

Lesson Plan Source

EducationWorld.com

Submitted By

Linda Starr

National Standards

MATHEMATICS: Number and Operations
GRADES 3 - 5
NM-NUM.3-5.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems
GRADES 6 - 8
NM-NUM.6-8.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems
GRADES 9 - 12
NM-NUM.9-12.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems

MATHEMATICS: Measurement
GRADES 6 - 8
NM-MEA.6-8.1 Understand Measurable Attributes of Objects and the Units, Systems, and Processes of Measurement

MATHEMATICS: Representation
GRADES Pre-K - 12
NM-REP.PK-12.1 Create and Use Representations to Organize, Record, and Communicate Mathematical Ideas

SCIENCE
GRADES K - 4
NS.K-4.1 Science as Inquiry
NS.K-4.2 Physical Science
GRADES 5 - 8
NS.5-8.1 Science as Inquiry
NS.5-8.2 Physical Science
GRADES 9 - 12
NS.9-12.1 Science as Inquiry
NS.9-12.2 Physical Science

More Lesson Ideas

Find links to more math lesson ideas in these Education World archives: