Activity
How Long Did That Walk Take?
Lesson to teach students who are blind or visually impaired to compute time/distance ratios in alignment with Common Core State Standards.
- Student will compute Time/Distance and Length Ratios.
- This lesson is to reinforce the concept of distance traveled and time spent traveling at a particular rate.
- Orientation along the x/y axis on graph paper
- Method of measuring distance. How long does it take for a student to walk 1/4 mile? This can be determined either in the school gym (gym teacher can advise distance), school track (1 times around using the inside lane is 1/4 mile), or if neither of these is available walk out the distance in a hallway.
- Method of measuring time – phone, clock, timer
- Graph Paper bold lined or raised
- Dots, Markers, Tape, Straight Edge Ruler (to connect dots)
- Vocabulary: Proportional Relationship, Ratio, x and y axis on graph paper
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Ask student to describe an instance when he/she has traveled somewhere. What was the mode of transportation? When did he/she leave, arrive? How much time was spent traveling from point A to Point B? How can this be figured
out? - Brainstorm with the student reasons why it might be important to know this sort of information. The student should record the answers using the media of his or her choice. (If working with a group or classroom have small groups in which they record answers and then share with the larger group/class.)
- Explain to student that now he/she will be timing how long it takes to walk 1/4 mile.
- The student should fill in the time on the Time/Distance Worksheet (just the 1/4 mile section).
- Next the student will again walk 1/4 mile, but this time counting the number of steps taken.
- The student should fill in the number of steps on the Time/Distance Worksheet (just the 1/4 mile section).
- The student will complete the 1/2 mile section on the chart, with assistance as necessary.
- If the student is confident have him/her complete the Time/Distance Worksheet using his or her media of choice (section A only). If not, continue working together until the student is confident.
- The student can now use the information to Graph the results with Time being on the X axis and Distance being on the Y axis.
- Once Section A of the Time/Distance Worksheet has been completed have the student complete sections B and C independently.
- This is a real life lesson for the student. Try to reinforce walking distance vs. time in daily activities the student performs, such as moving from one classroom the the next, getting to the cafeteria or gym. How much time do they need to allow so as not to be late for class?
By Susan LoFranco
Attached File(s)
https://www.perkins.org/sites/elearning.perkinsdev1.org/files/TimeDistance%20Worksheet_final.pdf
