Landscaping

Introduction

Get your work boots out; it is time to have some fun! Mrs. Papizan has hired you to landscape her back yard. You will get into groups and design a landscape using the dimensions that Mrs. Papizan has provided. As a landscaper you will add a deck, a tree, a flower bed and a garden into your design for Mrs. Papizan. Be creative and let's get to work!

The Task

You are a member of the landscaping team assigned to design Mrs. Papizan’s back yard into a work of art. Your team must:

Part One

Make a blueprint of the backyard with all the landscaping completed;
Add a deck, a tree, a flower bed, and a garden to the back yard;
Create a spreadsheet with all purchases and total cost;
Divide all work so that all group members are equally employed;
Stay within your group budget;
Hand in a complete list of sources that were used.

Part Two

There will be four different jobs available with this project. Each group must decide who would best fit the title of each job.

      1.   Buyer
      2.   Researcher
      3.   Financier
      4.   Surveyor

Part Three

     Buyer The buyer will go to the local stores and see if each item that needs to be purchased is available. This person is also responsible for getting the right materials. Everything must be detailed for the buyer.
     Researcher   The researcher is the individual who will use the sources provided and look up all the materials needed. This person will make sure that they are within the dimensions specified by Mrs. Papizan.
     Financier The financier will be aware of all the expenditures and will oversee all moneys. This individual will make sure all materials are cost effective. All costs must be accounted for.
     Surveyor The surveyor will look at Mrs. Papizan’s backyard and will see where each item will be placed in the yard. This person will decide on the dimensions that each item will be. It does make a difference where items are placed and what size they are.

Resources

Web Sites

Books

Landscaping for Dummies by Philip Giroux

Landscape Operations: Management, Methods, and Materials by Leroy G.

Hannebaum
Builders Guide to Landscaping by Jonathan F. Hutchings
Better Homes and Gardens Step by Step Landscaping
Affordable Landscaping by Michael D. Smith

Encyclopedia of Landscaping and Patio Design by Randall W. Cole

Patio and Decks by Dan Ramsey
The Garden Design Book by Cheryl Merser

The Objectives

The student will use proportions to solve scale-model
problems with fractions and decimals.

The student will solve practical problems involving whole
numbers, integers, and rational numbers, including percents.
Problems will be of varying complexities, involving real-life data.

The student will verify by measuring and describe the
relationships between vertical angles and angles that are
supplementary and complementary.

The student will apply transformations (rotate or turn,
reflect or flip, translate or slide, and dilate or scale) to
geometric figures represented on graph paper. The student will identify applications of transformations such as tiling, fabric design, art, and scaling.

The student will solve multi-step equations in one variable.

The student will create and solve problems using proportions, formulas, and functions.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The student will communicate through application software.

* Communicate with spreadsheets by entering data and setting up formulas, analyzing data, and creating graphs or charts to visually represent data.

The student will communicate through networks and
telecommunication. Use local and worldwide network communication systems.

The student will have a basic understanding of computer
processing, storing, retrieval and transmission
technologies and a practical appreciation of the relevant
advantages and disadvantages of various processing,
storage, retrieval, and transmission technologies.

The student will process, store, retrieve, and transmit
electronic information.

Use search strategies to retrieve electronic information.
Use electronic encyclopedias, almanacs, indexes, and
catalogs to retrieve and select relevant information.

The Process

Each member of the group should take on a title that is listed above, such as: buyer, researcher, etc... After this first step has been completed, you are well on your way.

The backyard that you will be working on is very small; only 50 ft by 100 ft. Be accurate with your measurements.

50 ft

· <----------100 ft--------->

To begin the assignment, you need to start with your blueprint. Everything that you are adding to the backyard must be to scale. Be sure to add the scale to the bottom of the blueprint. That is important to figure out what the actual size of each item will be. This blueprint is a visual for all the group members to refer to.

Each landscaping team will have a budget of $10,000.00. You must be creative in order to stay within your group budget. It is very important that the team does not use more money than already allocated to them. Once the blueprint is created, then all the other pieces of the project can begin.

Use the resources that have been provided to get a feel for all that is involved from the size of trees to the color of different flowers. Every detail must be laid out within your blueprint. This can be added later. You can revise your original blueprint as many times as you wish.

Stick to your job. Make sure you offer help to the other members often. This is a group project.

This project involves group work, a lot of research, and a lot of leg work. Do not fall behind or you will be dragging down your whole group.

Allow one week to create the original blueprint. Then estimate a total of four weeks for the project to be completed. Be aware of the time you have and work on the project daily.

Prepare a 5 –10 minute presentation about Landscaping. Teach the class some of the basics of what you have learned and design a quick problem for a volunteer to practice (Don’t pick a goof ball). DO NOT READ BORING PARAGRAPHS TO THE CLASS! Discuss it like you know what you are talking about! Use several visual aids to help the class understand the topic.

Evaluation

Each group will be graded on a multiple of things. Each group will get a grade and each individual will receive a separate grade on their performance within the group. Please see the grading criteria for more information.

	A	B	C	D	F
Blueprint	The blueprint is neat and clear. All items are easily located on the blueprint. Each item is clearly marked with type of item and color. The blueprint has a scale at the bottom and all items adhere to that scale.	The blueprint has some fuzzy areas that are hard to read. All items are easily located on the blueprint. Each item is clearly marked with type and color of item. The blueprint has a scale at the bottom but not all items adhere to the scale.	The blueprint has some fuzzy areas that are hard to read. Some items are not clearly marked or easily located. The blueprint lacks a scale at the bottom.	The blueprint has many fuzzy areas that are hard to read. All items are not clearly marked or easily located. The blueprint lacks a scale at the bottom.	There was no blueprint handed in.
Spreadsheet	The spreadsheet has all purchases listed with a running total cost. The team did not exceed the $10,000.00 cap. Each purchase has a description.	The spreadsheet has all purchases listed. There is not a total running cost. The team did not exceed the $10,000.00 cap. Each purchase has a description.	The spreadsheet has all purchases listed. There is not a total running cost. The team used more money than was given to them. Each purchase has a description.	The spreadsheet does not list all the purchases. There are no descriptions of the purchases. There is not a total running cost. The team has exceeded the money cap.	There was no spreadsheet handed in.
Performance	Enthusiastic about the project and willing to help others.	Enthusiastic about the project. Too busy to help other group members.	Not willing to help other group members. Motivation is slow.	Holding the group back due to lack of interest. No motivation.	Failed to do the role that was assigned.

Web Quest Evaluation Rubric

Presentation
	70	80	90	100
Were the presenters enthusiastic about this presentation?	Presenters may as well been asleep they were so boring.	Presenters were faking their enthusiasm or could have been more lively.	Presenters were reasonably excited about their topic.	Presenters were excited enough to make the audience want to know more.
Did the presenters make eye contact or just read to the class?	Read to the class long boring paragraphs	Some reading with a small bit of eye contact	Maintained eye contact throughout at least half the presentation	Great eye contact for most of the presentation. Made the listener feel that they were part of the presentation.
Did the presentation flow well or were there long pauses of silence?	Several long pauses of silence, very unorganized	Some pauses of silence, unorganized in parts	Very few pauses of silence, 1 part unorganized	No pauses; presentation flowed well
Did all team members have a role in delivering the presentation?	One person gave the entire presentation.	One person gave most of the presentation.	Both persons had equal speaking parts but they did not seem to function as a team.	Both persons had equal speaking parts and functioned well as a team.

Project Design 70 80 90 100

Did the project address all necessary information?	Left off several items	Left off a 2-3 of items	Left off one item	All required items included
Did the project have an interesting look?	Plain, no color, 1 picture	A little color, 2-3 small pictures	Colorful, a few pictures, but not very pleasing	Very interesting, pleasing look, good pictures
Did the visual aids offer variety and maintain interest?	Aids were uninteresting and did not pertain to subject.	Aids were too small to see but were appropriate.	Aids were interesting but were all the same type.	Interesting visual aids that were large enough to see.
How much effort seemed to be put into this project?	Looked and sounded like it was all done last night.	A little effort was put into the poster but none into the presentation (or vise-versa)	A respectable amount of work was obvious.	An outstanding job that Mrs. Papizan will show for future reference.

Presentation Avg: Project Avg: Overall Score:

Conclusion

Now that you have finished your project, you have learned a little bit about spreadsheets and have used your math skills to create a work of art. Keep on creating. You may even be able to work on your own backyard.