Timely ideas and information, with daily updates. Complete information about thousands of teaching materials for K-12 math and science. Thousands of web sites for educators and students. Support for long-term classroom planning and professional development. For a number of years I have used model trains, cars, dollhouse furniture, figurines, and any other scaled replicas I could find to teach ratio and proportion.
Students begin by measuring real cars and furniture.
We also measure furniture at school and at home. Understanding of ratio and proportion begins when students measure models and scale them to the real life objects. Dollhouse furniture is scaled one inch to one foot. The simplicity of this scale makes the furniture ideal for a first look at scale replications. Students are given the opportunity to work with ratio without worrying about conversions.