What is "The Golden Ratio" and why is it so famous?

There are 4 parts to this project:
Part I: Students follow a guided activity to try to locate the point on a line segment that divides the segment into the golden ratio. They do this by trial/error: They take a segment AB and measure it, put a point C anywhere on the line, then find the ratios of short piece to long piece, and long piece to whole. They will make a chart where they try 5 different locations for point C, and evaluate which one is closest to the right one, where the two ratios they found are closest to being equal. Then, individually, they must generalize what they learned and decide about where point C must be (close to point A, close to the middle, etc). This activity takes about one class period.

Part II: Each group receives a different topic to research about where the golden ratio is found (1. The human body: there are many g.r.'s to be found, and this group is given a guided activity to measure various parts of each person in the group's bodies and see how close they are to the g.r. 2. The GR and its connections to nature - sunflowers - pine cones - shells - etc. This is also guided and requires internet/books to help. 3. GR and architecture - find buildings that use the GR, describe where it can be found, etc. 4. GR and Fibonacci Sequence - guided activity that shows how the GR is approximated by taking the ratios of successive numbers in the sequence).
NOTE: Each group should be working together on their assigned topic, gathering information, and preparing a presentation to the class that will inform them of what they learned about the GR. This takes anywehre from 1-3 class periods.

Part III: Presentations! Each group presents, and students must take notes on the presentations (I have them turn in their notes in a specific format to make them accountable).

Part IV: "What's the big deal, anyway?" Students write a newspaper article that evaluates how interesting, or not interesting, the GR is and if it deserves to be so famous. They must refer to something in EACH of the presentations they heard. They may take any stance they want as long as they back it up with evidence. They are encouraged to be creative with their articles.

NOTE: If possible, some pieces can be printed in the school newspaper!

They are graded on: Their own group's presentation, the notes they take on the others' presentation, and their article (you can make your own rubric but it should cover how well they refer to the specifics mentioned in EACH group.) If you want to, you can make participation part of the grade, and as they are working in class, you can walk around, observe, and give students participation grades based on how on-task they've been.