Heather Turner

October 6, 2003

Topic: Geometry

Grade Level: 3^rd and 4^th

Objectives:

• The students will be able to create a soap bubble print.
• The students will be able to measure the circumference in cm. of their bubble print.
• The students will be able to measure the diameter in cm. of their bubble print.
• The students will be able to measure the radius in cm. of their bubble print.

Materials:

• Bottles of bubbles with wands
• Nametags
• Yarn
• Rulers
• Construction paper
• Bubble mania experiment sheets

Procedures:

1. Explain to the students that they will be using bubbles to learn about circumference, radius, and diameter. (Builds on previous learning- NCTM #3)

2. Organize the students into pairs. (Gender aptitudes are equal NCTM # 10) On 8 of the nametags, mark them "Radius" and list one of the following numbers: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,or 9. On the other nametags mark them "Diameter” and list these numbers: 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18. The students will then (after understanding that Diameter is the radius plus itself) find their corresponding partner. For easier understanding we will have the "Radius" students find their corresponding diameter. (Actively involve students- NCTM #1)

3. Explain the bubble blowing activity. Hand out each pair a Bubble Mania Experiment worksheet. The students are to take turns blowing bubbles onto a piece of dark construction paper until the bubble pops and leaves a circular soap bubble print (Manipulatives aid learning- NCTM #6)

4. The students will blow five bubbles and measure the circumference, diameter, and radius and list the measurements in centimeters on their experiment sheet. (Learning is developmental- NCTM #2)

5. After the students have experimented with blowing bubbles and measuring them have a class discussion on their findings. (Good questions facilitate learning- NCTM #5)

Gearing Up:

To make this activity more difficult I would have the students gather materials from around the classroom and have them measure the circumference, radius, and the diameter of each round object they find. A final suggestion to gear this activity up would be to use larger numbers when the students are pairing up with diameter and radius.

Gearing Down:

This activity is geared toward 3^rd or 4^th grade. To gear this activity down, you could leave out the pairing up of radius and diameter. Younger children could get confused when trying to do this. Another way to gear this activity down would be for the teacher to do the activity with the entire class instead of in individual groups. The teacher could use posters that represent the diameter, radius, and circumference. This will be easier for the younger students to see.

Vocabulary Words:

• Circumference
• Diameter
• Radius

Questions to Initiate Conversation:

1. What was your favorite part of the activity and why?

2. What did you find to be the most difficult?

3. What was the easiest?

4. Do you notice any patterns?

5. Why is it important to know how to measure things?

Bubble Print Activity Sheet

Name #1___________________

Name #2___________________


Instructions:

Using your bubbles and construction paper, blow bubbles one at a time to make a bubble print. Be sure to number your bubbles so they don’t get mixed up! After you get done making one bubble print use the yarn and ruler to measure circumference, diameter, and radius in centimeters. Do this 5 more times so you have measured a total of 5 bubbles.

Remember!

Circumference is the distance around the circle

Diameter is the widest part of the circle

Radius is half of the Diameter- if you get stuck just try to think- what number plus itself will equal the diameter? Or the Diameter divided by 2 = the radius.

Bubbles	Circumference	Diameter	Radius
Bubble #1	Cm	Cm	Cm
Bubble #2	Cm	Cm	Cm
Bubble #3	Cm	Cm	Cm
Bubble #4	Cm	Cm	Cm
Bubble #5	Cm	Cm	Cm