Kids across America turned into Cyber Sleuths last May as they explored "The Footprint Files," a hands-on CYBERCHASE(sm) workshop that uses the popular PBS Kids® math mystery cartoon to make connections to math, science and art.
Sponsored by Thirteen/WNET New York and INTEL in cooperation with public television stations, these workshops had kids taking on the role of forensic scientists as they measured and compared lengths of different body parts to find surprising relationships. Did you know, for instance, that your arm span is about equal to your height?
After viewing clips from "EcoHaven: CSE," a CYBERCHASE episode about proportional body measurements, kids discovered that, while people may differ in size, their proportions are often the same. Kids also got a taste of paleontology and found out that animals, like humans, have their own proportional relationships. Challenged to predict the adult height of a baby cyber-creature from only a few clues, children then used their imaginations and their art skills to show what they thought it would look like.
Many of teacher Kyla Watson's fourth-graders who participated in the workshop at Cedarcrest Southmoor Elementary School in Baton Rouge were already big CYBERCHASE fans. "It helped my math, and the characters are really cool," said one student. Another student said the show "helps me realize there are more ways of doing math than just using your calculator."
Your students can become Cyber Sleuths too! Simply download the following documents and start investigating "The Footprint Files."
In addition to Thirteen/WNET New York and INTEL®, these public television stations helped coordinate the workshops: KAET in Tempe, Arizona; KVIE in Sacramento, California; Louisiana Public Television; KNME in New Mexico; UNC-TV in North Carolina and KLRU in Austin, Texas.
| Combs Elementary School|
Here's a clue... Children start their "investigations" using CYBERCHASE star Bianca's footprint as their first clue.
| Bidwell Elementary School|
So how tall is she? Small groups of children use the footprint to estimate Bianca's height.
| JB Sutton Elementary School|
True for me? Kids test their arm spans to see if they are equal to their heights.
| Wooldridge Elementary |
True for you? Kids see if the body part relationships revealed in the CYBERCHASE episode work for them.
| Westside Community Center|
Let's measure! A teacher helps a student mark off his body measures to record on his Cyber Sleuth Notepad.
| Cedarcrest-Southmoor Elementary |
Baton Rouge, LA
Solving the CyberSaurus mystery. Children use clues to estimate the height of a mysterious cyber-creature.