Aim to Be Awesome, Not Perfect

This week I am hoping to incorporate more inquiry in my lessons, specificially in my onlevel classes. This week we are learning about circumference and area of circles, and rather than just teach them the formulas, I thought it would be more meaningful for them to actually experience it.  It is also a great unit to read some story books - like  Sir Cumference and the First Round Table . Tuesday's plan is to read them the book to help with vocabulary and then have them work on an activity that has them examining the relationship of the circumference and diameter using yarn, and then measuring the diameter with a ruler to estimate the circumference.  I got it from For the Love of Teaching Math , but I can't find the actual file, which is why I haven't linked it.  There are similar activities in her store. I think the story will help with recall of circle vocabulary and by seeing that a little more than 3 diameters make the circumference will make this "stick"...

Last year, as an end of year project, my students used a bunch of skills we had learned over the course of a year to create a Humongous Hero project. It was suggested by a fellow math teacher that parts of the project might be good as an inquiry project or as practice thinking proportionally. We spent a day looking a ratios around our school and a day looking at basic proportions, since the idea of ratios and proportions are new to 6th graders. However, next time, I might just start with this first. When they entered the classroom, there were multiple large hands around the room.  I told them a giant had broken in during the night and had left fingerprints in my room.  And I wanted to know how tall he was.  The only directives they had was that they could choose who they worked with and they use anything in the classroom in order to solve the problem.  As you can see, they used each other, meter sticks, their own bodies, rulers, and even me to help so...