Circles…
Today we expanded our knowledge of circles and added a new term: pi. (It’s not a misspelling!) We used measuring tapes to measure the diameter and circumferences of 5 different sized circles. We discussed any relationships we found between the diameter and circumferences. Hm…we noticed that the circumference was approximately 3 times the diameter.
We then read the book, Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi: A Math Adventure by Cindy Neuschwander. (It was a sequel to a book we read previously.) Sir Cumference had an upset stomach and his son, Radius, tried to find a solution. He went to the doctor’s office looking for a solution - found one (he thought) and gave it to his father. It was a BIG mistake. It turned Sir Cumference into a dragon! Now he had another problem - turning his dad back into a human and trying to do it fast enough before the other knights in the kingdom slayed him!
As the story continues, he visited his cousin, Lady Fingers, and she needed help making a pie. He used strips of dough to cover the pie, used the leftovers to edge the pie - but found that 3 strips wasn’t enough. He discovered that it took 3 and a bit more to complete the pie. To find out if Sir Cumference was transformed and saved, you’ll have to read the book for yourself! (My classes already knows the outcome!)
We went back to our activity and double checked our measurements…it was right! The circumference is a little more than 3 times the diameter of the circle. It worked on all different sizes! Pi is a mathematical term for 3.14. Three wholes and a little bit more. So…
We learned a new formula: Circumference is pi times the diameter. Neat!
April 29th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
that was very very fun and i loved it!!
April 29th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
when we were measuring the circumference i couldnt go all the way around i kept messing up i always had to have someone help me do it.
Diameter and Cicumference are so cool!!!!!!!
April 29th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
That was so neat i never thought it could be that easy!!!!!!!!
April 30th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
that was pretty fun thought pi would be so much harder but i hope we can learn more about pi well see u later!
April 30th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Today we had to make a art project out of CIRCLES!!!!!!!
I made mickey mouse although it didnt really look that great!!!!!!!!!! 
May 1st, 2008 at 6:58 pm
I changed my mickey mouse into just circles all over the page!!!!!! Now it looks a little better!!!!!!!!!
May 2nd, 2008 at 7:02 am
i made baby elmo!!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I made a big sister and baby packman,(it’s funny!!!)
May 9th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Hey, Mrs. Spence i love when we’re were measureing the diameter and the circumfrence that was a lot of fun when we did that in Math class that day.