Grid Enlargement
Sharon July 1st, 2009
I was asked by a private school near Baltimore for permission to use my illustrated Chesapeake Bay map in a seventh grade project to learn how to do a grid enlargement. I agreed to let them use the map because I knew it would be a unique learning experience for the students.
Enlarging a drawing using a grid system is a classic low tech technique to copy something fairly accurately. Simply put, you draw equal squares on the small drawing and make a grid of equal number larger squares on the larger paper. Then it is a matter of copying the lines within one square to the larger drawing.
You have to think about where the lines start and end in relation to their position as they cross grid lines and I hope that while the students worked on this map, they also learned more about the Chesapeake Bay.
I think they did a very good job with their project and it was displayed in their school. They may not think they will ever have reason to use grid enlargements in adulthood but you never know! It is a useful skill for enlarging patterns or diagrams among other things.
