Pi
Math Practices
Standard 5: Use appropriate tools strategically.
Standard 6: Attend to precision.
What the Teacher is Doing
Preparation: Have materials available. Students must be able to use rulers to measure to the tenth of an inch. Ensure students can use operations with decimals and/or fractions.
What the Student is Doing
http://p21.org/storage/documents/P21_Math_Map.pdf
page 11
Students use string and ruler to measure circumference and diameter of circular objects (lid of a jar, clock face, pie plate). Students will divide circumference by diameter, resulting in pi (students will not be informed they are finding pi- that is part of the discovery process).
Students will recognize that pi is an irrational number- it cannot be measured precisely.
The discovery process shows a relationship between circumference, diameter, and pi.
Example of Rich Tasks
- Students research how cultures have used pi from ancient to modern civilizations.
- Students research the method developed by Archimedes using inscribed and circumscribed circles.