Sir Cumference and the First Round Table by Cindy Neuschwander

Mathematical Strand:

Geometry

Topic:

Students will learn the geometric terms related to circles. The students will solve the problem posed in the book.

Grade level:

6-8

Lesson Created by:

Stacy Aschenbrenner Bergman Elementary, Manhattan, KS

Lesson Description

Materials

• Book—Sir Cumference and the First Round Table
  

1. Launching the lesson

1. Read the story; stop at the part of the story when the problem arises.
   
2. Tell the students "When King Arthur and his knights get together the table they have is so long that everyone has to shout to be heard, can you come up with a way to solve this problem?"
   

2. Developing the lesson

1. Tell the students the measurements of the table King Arthur is currently using. (20 feet by 5 feet)
   
2. Let the students work with a partner to solve the problem.
   
3. After a while let the students share what they came up with.
   
4. Then share the first attempt from the book that is made to solve the problem.
   
5. If they came up with the circle idea the first time around go ahead and share the rest of the story, asking them to predict the other ways the problem could have been solved. If they did not come up with the circle idea go ahead and give them more time to solve the problem.
   

3. Closure/Discussion/Elaboration

1. Discuss the terms diameter, radius, and circumference. Have the students record these definitions on their "Geometry Terms" sheet and give them time to draw an example of each.
   
2. To extend the lesson you could use the book Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi (by the same author) to introduce the concepts of pi and figuring area of a circle.