Grade
4

Math in Our World: Kindness Contest

A drawing of an owl 2 feet long by 3 feet wide. It is being projected behind at a larger scale. The drawing says 'Look Whoooo's Awesome! It's Yooooou!'

My school recently held a kindness poster contest. The rules for the contest said that the student who drew the winning design for the poster would get to paint it on the wall outside the school office.

I used 8 ounces of paint for my owl poster. I was really proud of how it came out. And guess what? … I won!

Now I get to create a giant mural! I need to make sure I can keep the picture looking the same, while increasing the dimensions for the larger space.

  1. Use pictures, models, or numbers to show how the canvas and wall are related.
  2. What do you notice? What do you wonder?
  3. What math questions can you ask about this situation? Answer all the questions you can!
  • Sketch and label a picture to show the dimensions of the original painting, as well as the new mural.
  • What would the dimensions of the mural be if you wanted it to be _____ times the length and the width of the original painting?
  • What is the largest the mural could be, without being stretched, if the wall is 8 feet tall and 15 feet wide?
  • Show your work to someone and explain your thinking. Did they understand?
  • Ask whether they have any other questions you can answer!

What rectangles would have the same area as the mural, but different dimensions?

Printable Version

Google doc for printing and copying

Reference for Educators

Sample problems and solutions