Circular Circles

Circles are everywhere!







In our class, we are studying geometry, and
we are learning about circles.







We have learned that circles have a center point. In addition, we have learned that a line segment drawn from the center point to the outside edge of the circle is a radius.


The diameter is a line segment that extends from one side of a circle to the other,
right through the center point.


Lastly, we learned that the perimeter, or outside edge of a circle, is called the circumference.












We used chalk tied to a piece of yarn to draw a giant circle outside our classroom. Later we measured its radius which was 9 feet in length. Since the diameter of a circle is two times the radius, we determined that our circle's diameter was 18 feet.








After we drew and measured our class circle, each team drew their own.





Way to go, Team 4!



Then each team measured the radius of the circle in inches.
















Each team's circle had a different radius, and of course, a different diameter!




Good for you, Team 2!







Great job, Team 1!






Super work, Team 3!








Excellent job, Team 5!







Great work, Team 6!





We used multiplication or addition to double the radius
and find the length of the diameter.

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Back in the classroom after we were finished, Mrs. Ranney showed us how to convert the inches to feet.
She showed us how to divide by 12, the number of inches in a foot.
For example, one team's diameter was 88 inches, so we worked this problem:

88 divided by 12 = 7 feet 4 inches



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How do you like our circles? What circles can you find around your house?
Try measuring the radius of a circle you find at home and let us know what the measurement was.
Remember, to find the diameter, double the radius!

Using the Encyclopedia

The PFC (Parent/Faculty Club) generously purchased a one year subscription to World Book Online!

The students in Mrs. Ranney's class are learning how to research!

• Step 1 :  Think about a topic you'd like to learn about!

• Step 2: Log-in to the online site using your username and password.  (Remember you can get to the World Book by going to Learning Links on the Chaparral website.  Your parents have your username and password.)
  

• Step 3: Type the topic of interest in the search box and press return.

• Step 4: Read and learn! Remember,  subheadings can help guide a researcher to the answer.   

Share the facts you learned with others!

Today we discovered:

1. North America has a population of 538,000,000 people. (How does that compare with the other continents?  Hmmm.....)

2.  North America is the third largest continent. Asia is the largest, and Africa is larger than North America. (Hmmm...I wonder how big North America is in square miles?)

3. The world's largest island is Greenland, and the largest freshwater lake is Lake Superior.

3. Coast redwoods are the tallest living trees. (I wonder exactly how tall? Hmmm....)

Have you learned anything new from an encyclopedia?

Please share!

Make sure your comment is written in your own words.  Use the facts from the encyclopedia, but do not copy sentences from it!

(If your World Book comment gets published, you will earn five free minutes on Mrs. Ranney's Website!)

 

Exploring North America!

This week our class has been very busy studying geography by using  National Geographic's

Giant Traveling Map of North America.

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We were able to locate and mark the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Rocky Mountains, and the Appalachian Mountains.  Do you know which color cones represent each mountain range?

We also showed with blue cones where 3 important

mountain peaks are located:  Mt. McKinley in Alaska, Mr. Whitney in California, and Pikes Peak in Colorado.

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If you look carefully at the map below, you can also see where we marked the Mississippi River.  Do you know where the Mississippi's source is?  It's delta?

 Do you also notice some tributaries of the Mississippi?  Can you name them?  Do you know what a tributary is?

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While exploring Central America, we found the 

Isthmus of Panama.

Do you know what man - made feature these explorers 

are pointing to?

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While exploring in the United States, we found the 4 Corners.  Can you see why this location is called 4 Corners?  Can you name the four states that form the 4 Corners?

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Mrs. Hanzer, who sponsored the map for our school,

joined us and talked about the importance of geography!

She has traveled to all SEVEN continents!

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 Throughout the week, we visited many landforms such as islands and peninsulas.  We explored a number of bodies of water, such as bays, seas, and gulfs.


We learned to use lines of latitude and longitude to locate
specific places.










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What did you learn this week about geography and 
about 
North America?