- Definition
A scale drawing is a picture where everything is made smaller or larger by the same amount, so it still looks like the original but fits on paper or is easier to see.
A blueprint where 1 centimeter on the drawing represents 1 meter of the actual building is a scale drawing.
How to teach this in 30 seconds
Try this analogy: A scale drawing is like a map on your phone, where a one-inch line might represent a real-life mile, keeping everything perfectly in proportion.
Ask your child: If we made a scale drawing of this room, what measurement would we need first?
Common mix-up: Students may think a scale drawing is just any smaller sketch. The key is that every part of the object is shrunk or enlarged by the exact same factor, so nothing is distorted.
Examples
- A road map where one inch equals five miles.
- A diagram of an insect in a science book that is enlarged 10 times its actual size.
- The floor plan for a new house showing the layout of the rooms.
scale drawing is a term used in Ontario’s Kindergarten to Grade 8 curriculum.
Where this shows up
The descriptions on this page are SmartStudy’s own original, plain-language writing — not the Ministry’s wording. They are aligned to the Ontario Curriculum, © King’s Printer for Ontario. For the Ministry’s official wording, see the source link below. SmartStudy is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Education. Ontario Curriculum and Resources ↗
