Students use proportional reasoning and popular GPS technology in the form of apps, readily available on smartphones, to estimate the polar circumference of Earth. Connections are made with middle school social studies as students investigate, differentiate, and use the properties of longitude and latitude.
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A cartoon that explores 360 degrees and the directions of clockwise and counterclockwise is coupled with a full-page activity sheet.
Mathematical Explorations: Finding Pi with Archimedes's Exhaustion Method
classroom-ready activities
Alessandra King
An analysis of Archimedes' contributions to the field of mathematics and the meaning behind C = pd are explored. Activity sheets are included.
Math for Real: Wheeling in the Water
“when will I ever use this?”
Misha K. Miller
The topic of irrigating crops provides the real-life tie-in to this computation activity involving area.
A humorous cartoon and related problems (and answers) about pi are coupled with a full-page activity sheet.
Carolyn James, Ana Casas, and Douglas Grant
Encouraging students to justify earlier as they attempt to solve an open-ended task can lead to greater understanding and engagement.
Solve It! Student Thinking: Penny Drop
big solutions to little problems
Students' thinking is discussed, and the procedures used with problem solving are explored.
Quick Reads: Sure, We Can Make Smaller Pieces
a good idea in a small package
Michael J. Gilbert
The topic of limit is explored by examining a circle's successively smaller sectors.
Cory A. Bennett
Address the needs of diverse learners with a class structure that is designed around a crime scene theme and based on student choice and perceptions of the math being studied.
Integrating Measurement and Computational Estimation in Geometry
classroom-ready activities
Karen K. Lucas and Ji-Won Son
Students work in pairs to estimate various lengths found in triangles and circles.