Swimming Pool Web Quest

A WebQuest for 7th Grade (math)

Introduction

With summer just around the corner, wouldn’t it be just great to walk out of your back door and dive into your very own swimming pool. That dream can become a reality as soon as you make all the necessary plans. So, get started and you’ll be hosting that pool party before you know it. Make sure you invite Aunt Bessie to swim, after all she did give you the $50,000 to use for the project, because you are her favorite!

The Task

You and a group of 4 other students are going to design a swimming pool for your backyard which has a rectangular shape of 50 feet wide and 75 feet long. In addition to a scale drawing of the yard and the pool, you will need to consider fencing.

v All members of the group will keep a portfolio of their work. Although you will discuss the options of a pool design and work as a group to find one, each person in the group will make their own.

v All members will write a paragraph of their own explaining why they did what they did and what decisions they had to make.

The Process

1. First I will assign groups of 5 to work together.

2. You will than gather the necessary class materials-graph paper, ruler and calculator.

3. Next you will draw a scale model of your backyard on the graph paper. Your backyard has a rectangular shape of 50 feet wide and 75 feet long. Use your textbook for reference on how to draw a scale drawing.

4. Now comes the fun part-you can begin looking at pools. First go to this web site and take a look at the process of building a pool.

http://www.anthonysylvan.com/build/newconstruction.asp

5. Look at some of the designs available and choice one that you like:

http://www.anthonysylvan.com/dream/northeast.asp

This next site allows you to look at 8 different designs and gives the dimensions for all of them.

http://www.zandxgroup.com/swimming_pools_in_cyprus.htm

Another site to check out is:

http://www.clearwater-pools.co.uk/

6. You should be ready to decide and draw your backyard pool. Make sure you place the pool exactly where you want it in the yard.

7. The fence is the next step in the process. Go to the following sites and decide which fence you want. Some things to consider are safety, the design of the fence and the color. Come to a conclusion and draw a picture of the fence you have chosen and tell why you chose. List the fence dimensions as well.

http://www.vinyl-fences.com/cat/legend/legend.html

http://www.guardianpoolfence.com/install.htm

http://www.deck-masters.com/poolfence.htm

http://www.jmiron.com/swim.htm

http://www.ultrafence.com/fences.htm

8. Now write several paragraphs about what you and your group did, what decisions you made and how you come to those decisions.

Evaluation

Although you discussed the options as a group each student will be evaluated on his or her own work.

Beginning

Accomplished

Exemplary

Score

Scale Drawing and Fence

Poor drawing, with no scale or measurements. Sloppy

Nice drawing, carefully measured

Very neat, correct measurements, easy to read shows pride in task

Well Organized

The material was hard to read and understand

The material was clear and concise

The material was clear, concise and thorough and neat.

Reasons for decisions

Decisions made with no reasons.

One reason given for each decision. Clear

Several well thought out reasons, with spelling and grammar correct

Conclusion

It takes a lot or time, energy, planning and thinking when making a major purchase. I hope you have learned that planning is important and should not be taken lightly. An informed consumer is a wiser consumer. If you truly were going to build a pool in your yard you would now be able to meet with a reputable pool dealer and intelligently discuss all your options. You could listen to their advice but you would be well informed about the options available.

Last updated on August 15, 1999. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page