Exploring Pi: How To Teach Circumference of a Circle

Sneak-a-Peek Into a Grade 7 Online Learning Classroom

Here we are, back at it again with more online learning fun and this time with a sneak peek into a grade 7 classroom emerging Pi (π) through an amazing problem based math lesson.

If you’re familiar with some of my 3 Act Math lessons I have posted on Tap Into Teen Minds, then you probably already know that I’m referring to Tile Circle. This task is a true curiosity sparker as students are shown a short video clip where the camera is slowly entering a visibly older, but beautiful building. In the atrium, we are confronted with a design on the floor. Is it a rug? Is it a sticker? Is it special tiling? Whatever it is, there is a ton to get students noticing and wondering about as we head towards our main question of focus:

How many tiles are wrapping the circle?

While students might not realize it immediately, we’ll be uncovering the perimeter of a circle that we will eventually call the circumference of the circle and emerge the proportional relationship between the circumference and the diameter, known as Pi, π. While we’ll be modelling how to teach the circumference of a circle through this fantastic curious lesson, note that the full Make Math Moments problem based unit has not been published as of this date, be sure to check regularly as it is almost complete.

As we do in each problem based math lesson we lead, rather than simply pre-teaching concepts, we’ll be using the Curiosity Path to dive into a context-rich problem.

Watch as we dive into an edited ‘summary’ of this online learning math class where we share some of the key parts of the lesson including the Sparking Curiosity intro through the Curiosity Path, Fuelling their Sense Making through a productive struggle prompt and keep an eye for how we can Ignite Our Teacher Moves throughout!

Give a quick watch to find out how! All relevant links are located below the video.

Resources Related To The Video

• Dive into the Tile Circle problem based lesson with your students
• Explore our other Problem Based Math Units including:
  • Circumference vs. Height
  • Open Sesame
• Learn how to consistently Make Math Moments in our Academy

Want to Run Problem Based Lessons Without a Hitch In Your Classroom?

Head over to the Make Math Moments 3-Part Framework page to dive right in or click below to download the guidebook to take with you!