You Spin Me Round and Round

We are studying circumference of circles.

We started by using this awesome idea I saw on Pinterest. My kids loved doing this for vocabulary instead of writing definitions. 

I created two lessons and the kids LOVED LOVED LOVED them!

The idea was for them to practice finding the diameter, taking  that information to get the radius and then find the circumference to practice using the formulas. Click on the picture to get this activity for free.

 I have been collecting lids and round things for a while now. I needed 6 of each thing since I have six groups in some of my classes. I labeled each object to match the recording sheet.

 I had rulers for each student. I ended up laminating the paper rulers from Ikea. They worked like magic!

We even found the circumference of their head and worked "backwards" to find the diameter and radius. They of course, loved that part.

I have seen several lessons using food online. I thought this would be awesome, but looking at my class numbers, over 100 students total, and my budget, it just wasn't going to work.

So, I created this lesson.  Click to get for free.

I thought my kids would think it was cheesy, pun intended. But, they actually liked it a lot. They said it made them hungry. It kept me safe on my weight loss quest.

(sorry for the glare)

The activities were very successful. The first day was tough, but they were similar, so the second activity went much smoother.

The next part of our unit included rotations. We included some review concepts so students could work independently. In reality, I don't think that went very well. We are still in the midst of them though. Time will tell. We are completing 20 minute rotations, which in reality have turned into 15 rotations. We get through two a day with warm up and reviewing homework. What it has done is make the classes fly by.

What I am really enjoying is meeting with each student in small group. One of the rotations is "Teacher Table". We are working on problem solving together. This has been great. These are how they will be tested.

I will admit. It's been trying at some points, but I feel that the kids are getting great practice and that is what they really need. I just wish I had more time. Don't we all though?

My partner and I decided, we'll do it again. We have a few things to adjust, but we know this will benefit our students.