EME Lesson Plan 5
Acquisition framework
Purpose:
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to properties of circles. They will use the acquisition framework to explore how the different parts of a circle relate to one another. They will then learn different ways to measure circles, whether by radius, diameter, or circumference.
Benchmark: MA.6.G.4.1: Understand the concept of Pi, know common estimates of Pi,and use these values to estimate and calculate the circumference and the area of circles.
Grade Level: 6th
Subject Area: Mathematics
Lesson Objectives:
By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
1) Understand what the radius and diameter of a circle is.
2) Understand how the diameter relates to the circumference (Pi).
3) Understand how to measure the circumference of a circle.
Materials:
- Projector
- Computer
- Smart Board & Pen
Activities:
Students will be given a compass, a protractor, and a ruler. They will be asked to draw a circle using the compass, and measure the radius and diameter with their ruler. They will then use the protractor to measure the circumference. When they have obtained these numbers, they will examine how these numbers relate to one another. They will complete the process several times will different size circles and see if they notice any trends.
Once everyone has completed this task individually, they will come together in small groups of three or four to discuss their findings. They will choose one person to report to the whole class what trends they found. After each group takes a turn, the students will realize that everyone has achieved roughly the same results.
I will then ask the students to try to figure out how to find the circumference of a circle given only the radius or only the diameter of the circle, with no protractor at their disposal. Since they have found that the circumference was about three times bigger than the diameter, they will have to work backwards to figure out how to get the circumference with only one piece of information.
Evaluation/Assessment:
I will have students take home a ruler. They will find ten circular items around their house and trace them on paper with a pencil. They must label what the object is (a can of soup, a flower vase, etc.) They should all be different sizes. Using a ruler, they will measure the diameter of each circle, and then find the circumference, using the formula we figured out in class. They will have four days to complete this assignment.
This lesson is considered in the acquisitiondomain because it is exploratory learning. The students are trying to figure out, on their own, how the different parts of the circle relate to one another. I am not telling the students what the answers are, but letting them take charge and figure it out themselves!