By: Leonora Spyros
Click to Begin!!
Main Menu
• Introduction
• Task
• Process:
-Person 1
-Person 2
-Person 3
-Person 4
• Evaluation
• Resources
• Teacher’s Page
• Click
at any
time to return to this
page
• Click
to go to
the next page and
to go back
Start
Overview
• This lesson is a WebQuest about fractals and
what they are and how they relate to the world.
• It is geared towards a fifth grade mathematics
class.
• You will need internet access in order to
complete this WebQuest.
Introduction
You have entered the world of strange and unusual shapes!
Does anyone have an idea of what these images below are? Or how
they were created? We are going to explore pictures like this and
others to learn about what they are and what their purpose in math is.
Introduction
Although all of the pictures from the previous slide
look different, they are all fractals, which seems
like a fitting name for these images of small
broken pieces all put together.
This WebQuest is developed to get a better
understanding of what fractals are and what
their purpose is in mathematics.
Task
According to the number that you have been assigned in your group, you will all have a different
role to withstand. You will meet with your group once you have completed your role and share the
information that you found with your group. Click on the image below your individual task to
view some specific questions that you will have to answer. Write your answers on a
separate piece of paper that will be handed in.
Person 1:
Person 2:
-Your task will be to focus on
-Your task will be to focus on the
history behind fractals.
fractals and what they have to
do with math.
Person 3:
Person 4:
-Your task will be to focus on how
fractals are used.
-Your task will be to focus on how
fractals relate to art.
Person 2 Process
Write the answers in your note book so they can be handed in after your group presents.
• How long have fractals been around?
• Who is the “father of fractals” or in other words, who
discovered fractals? Give a brief biography of him and
show some examples of his work.
• Who are some other mathematicians who have worked
with fractals? Give some examples of their work.
Go to the resources page to start searching for the answers!
Click the button above to go to the resources page.
Person 3 Process
• How are fractals used in mathematics?
• Where else are fractals present besides in mathematics?
• In what other fields besides math are fractals being
used, and for what purpose?
Go to the resources page to start searching for the answers!
Click the button above to go to the resources page.
Person 4 Process
• Are fractals mathematics or are they art?
• Who are some people that have created fractals, and are
they mathematicians or artists?
• What artistic tools are used to produce fractals?
• Find some examples of fractals that look like art work.
Go to the resources page to start searching for the answers!
Click the button above to go to the resources page.
Person 1 Process
• To what branch of mathematics do fractals belong?
• What mathematics and tools are needed to produce
fractals?
• What Is self-similar in regards to fractals? Give some
specific examples that apply for fractals.
• What is scaling in regards to fractals? Give some
specific examples that apply for fractals.
Go to the resources page to start searching for the answers!
Click the button above to go to the resources page.
After completing your task…
• Share the information that you have found with the rest
of your group.
• Make sure that everyone is clear on all of the
information.
• Put together a poster, a summary, or any other type of
way to present your findings with your group, including
all four parts of the information that will then be
presented in front of the entire class.
Evaluation
• You will be graded on the answers to your
different questions for the number that you were
assigned to individually.
• Then you will be graded on the group
presentation, as a group, so you must all work
together.
• You will be graded on how well you work as a
group and how well you present to the class.
• There is a rubric I will follow for your evaluation.
• Click here for rubric
Rubric
5
4
3
2
1
Individual
Role
(Questions)
-Very
thorough
responses
-Great
content
-Good
Responses
-Good
content
-Average
responses
and content
-Not very
thorough
-Little content
-Poor
responses
-Poor content
Group
Presentation
-Well
Organized
-Great overall
look
-Good
organization
-Good look
-Some
organization
-Some
creativity
-Little
organization
-Little creativity
-Poor
organization
-Not creative
Group Work
-Worked very
well together
-Everyone
included
-Worked well
together
-Almost
everyone
included
-Worked
together
pretty well
-Most
included
-Worked
together a little
-Few included
-Worked
poorly together
-Not everyone
included
Participation
(In class
discussion)
-Actively/
Always
participated
-Good
participation
-Some
participation
-Little
participation
-No
participation
Total: ___/20 This WebQuest will be counted as 20% of your projects grade
Conclusions
(For Follow-up Class Discussion)
• How were the different roles each important in
their own ways?
• How was it working as groups and sharing all of
your individual information with the group and
then putting it all together?
• Do you still have any new questions about
fractals and their purposes in mathematics?
• What was your favorite thing about fractals?
• Is there anything that you disliked about
fractals?
Resources
• Exploring Fractals
http://www.math.umass.edu/~mconnors/fractal/fractal.html
• Fractal World
http://www.kcsd.k12.pa.us/~projects/fractal/
• Fractals
http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/frac/
• Lina’s Art Gallery
http://www.linas.org/art-gallery/
• Sprott’s Fractal Gallery
http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/fractals.htm
• Coolmath’s Fractals
http://www.coolmath4kids.com/fractals.html
• Fractals
http://mathforum.org/alejandre/workshops/fractal/fractal3.html
• What is a Fractal
http://www.glyphs.com/art/fractals/what_is.html
Teacher’s Page
• This is a fractal WebQuest designed for fifth grade
students in a mathematics class. This WebQuest is
developed to get a better understanding of what fractals
are and what their purpose is in mathematics as well as
outside of mathematics. It is created in a fun way to get
all of the students involved individually and then to come
together to share their information with each other, and
finally create a presentation to show to the class. This
lesson will take about a week to complete. It is designed
in a fun way to engage the students to want to learn by
being interactive and using computers and the internet to
find the information necessary to complete their
assignment.
Teacher’s Page
• NCTM Standards: (communication and representation)
– organize and consolidate their mathematical thinking through
communication
– communicate their mathematical thinking coherently and clearly
to peers, teachers, and others
– use the language of mathematics to express mathematical ideas
precisely
– recognize and apply mathematics in contexts outside of
mathematics
– recognize and use connections among mathematical ideas
– understand how mathematical ideas interconnect and build on
one another to produce a coherent whole