Video
Supplements: Air
Pegasus: A Myth About Flight
Overview
Students read the myth about Pegasus and then calculate
the amount of food he eats and water he drinks. They
convert measurements between pounds and ounces and
between gallons
and quarts.
Outcome
Students will improve their understanding of simple unit
conversions.
Standards Addressed — Mathematics
Grade
4
Use Measurement Techniques and Tools, Benchmark B
05. Make simple unit conversions within a measurement
system; e.g., inches to feet, kilograms to grams,
quarts to gallons.
Materials
Procedure
-
Introduce the concept of
a myth as “a traditional
or legendary story, usually concerning
some being or hero or event, with or without a determinable
basis of fact
or a natural explanation, esp. one that
is
concerned with deities or demigods and explains some
practice, rite or
phenomenon of nature.” (Source:
dictionary.reference.com)
-
You might want
to ask the students if they know any
myths or if they know about
the ancient
gods
and goddesses.
-
Review the fact that
there are 16 ounces in a pound and four quarts in
a gallon.
-
Pass out the Pegasus:
a Myth About Flight student handout and have the
students read
the story and
answer the questions
at the end. Allow students to work
with a partner.
-
Have the students
make their own menu for Pegasus.
-
When students have
completed the handout, go over the correct
answers.
Have students
explain their
answers. There
are several ways students could
have calculated them.
-
Extension: Ask the students to make up their own myths
about how
the constellation
Pegasus
got into
the sky. They
can do this individually or in groups.
Student
Handout Answers
-
10-1⁄4 lbs (10.25 lbs)
, 71-3⁄4 lbs (71.75
lbs), 3,741-1⁄4 lbs (3,741.25 lbs)
-
164 oz, 1,148 oz, 59,860 oz
-
51-1⁄4 lbs (51.25
lbs), 358-3⁄4 lbs (358.75
lbs), 706-1⁄4 lbs (706.25 lbs)
-
20
quarts
-
100 quarts (25 gal), 700 quarts
(175 gal), 36,500 quarts (9,125
gal)
Evaluation for
Handout
Have the students calculate their own grades.
Allow one point for each answer and two
points for their
menu. This
gives a total of 15 points. They should
write their score as a fraction (e.g., 12 correct/15
total).
They should
divide the number that they got correct
by
the total number and convert this decimal
to a fraction.
Evaluation for Original
Myth
Category |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
| Focus on Assigned Topic |
The entire story is related to the assigned topic
and allows the reader to understand more about the
topic. |
Most of the story is related to the assigned topic.
The story wanders off at one point, but the reader
can still learn something about the topic. |
Some of the story is related to the assigned topic,
but a reader does not learn much about the topic. |
No attempt has been made to relate the story to the
assigned topic. |
| Setting |
Many vivid, descriptive words are used to tell when
and where the story took place. |
Some vivid, descriptive words are used to tell the
audience when and where the story took place. |
The reader can figure out when and where the story
took place, but the author didn’t supply much
detail. |
The reader has trouble figuring out when and where
the story took place. |
| Action |
Several action verbs (active voice) are used to describe
what is happening in the story. The story seems exciting. |
Several action verbs are used to describe what is
happening in the story, but the word choice doesn’t
make the story as exciting as it could be. |
A variety of verbs (passive voice) are used and describe
the action accurately, but not in a very exciting way. |
Little variety is seen in the verbs that are used.
The story seems a little boring. |
| Spelling and Punctuation |
There are no spelling or punctuation errors in the
final draft. Character and place names that the author
invented are spelled consistently throughout. |
There is one spelling or punctuation error in the
final draft. |
There are two to three spelling and punctuation errors
in the final draft. |
The final draft has more than three spelling or punctuation
errors. |
|
