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🥧 Week 28: Pi Day - Circles & Circumference

Lesson Overview
Grade Level Grades 3-4
Duration 40 minutes
STREAM Focus M (Math), T (Technology)

Week 28: Pi Day - Circles & Circumference

🎯 Learning Objectives

STEM Objectives

Students will be able to: 1. Understand the relationship between circumference and diameter 2. Discover pi through measurement 3. Apply pi to calculate circumference 4. Use Sphero to draw circles with specific dimensions

Faith Integration Objectives

Students will be able to: 1. Connect the infinite nature of pi to God's infinity 2. Recognize mathematical patterns as evidence of design 3. Wonder at the order God built into creation

Week 28: Pi Day - Circles & Circumference

🙏 Faith-Reason Integration

Catholic Teaching Connection

God's Mathematical Order — Pi appears everywhere in creation — in circles, spheres, waves, and spirals. This mathematical constant reveals the order God built into the universe. Pi's infinite, non-repeating decimal points to God's infinite nature.

Scripture Connection

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart." — Ecclesiastes 3:11

Saint Connection

Fr. Georges Lemaître — The priest who used mathematics to propose the Big Bang theory. He showed that mathematical patterns in the universe reveal God's design.

📚 Materials Needed

  • Circular objects of various sizes

  • String or flexible measuring tape

  • Rulers

  • Calculators

  • Recording sheets

  • Sphero robots and iPads

  • Pi Day treats (optional)

📝 Lesson Procedure (40 minutes)

Opening Prayer & Introduction (5 min)

Prayer: "Creator God, You built amazing patterns into the universe. Help us discover the wonder of pi today and see Your infinite nature in mathematics. Amen."

Pi Day excitement:

  • "March 14 is Pi Day! 3.14!"

  • "Pi is one of the most amazing numbers in mathematics"

  • "Today we'll DISCOVER pi ourselves!"

Pi Discovery Activity (15 min)

Hands-on discovery:

Materials: 5-6 circular objects of different sizes (can lids, plates, etc.)

Procedure: 1. Measure diameter (distance across through center) 2. Measure circumference (distance around — use string) 3. Divide: Circumference ÷ Diameter 4. Record on data sheet

Prediction: "What do you think you'll find?"

Students work in pairs to measure and calculate.

Class data collection: | Object | Circumference | Diameter | C ÷ D | |--------|--------------|----------|-------| | Lid | 25.1 cm | 8 cm | 3.14 | | Plate | 69.1 cm | 22 cm | 3.14 | | ... | ... | ... | ... |

Discovery moment:

  • "What do you notice about your answers?"

  • "They're all around 3.14!"

  • "This is PI! No matter the circle size, C ÷ D always equals pi!"

Pi Facts & Wonder (5 min)

Amazing pi facts:

  • Pi = 3.14159265358979323846...

  • It goes on FOREVER without repeating

  • We've calculated trillions of digits — still no pattern!

  • Pi appears in circles, spheres, waves, and more

Faith connection:

  • "Pi is infinite — it never ends and never repeats"

  • "Only God is truly infinite"

  • "When mathematicians study pi, they touch something that points to God's infinity"

  • "The fact that pi works for EVERY circle shows amazing design!"

Sphero Circle Challenge (12 min)

Apply pi with Sphero:

Challenge 1: Program Sphero to draw a circle

  • Use the "draw circle" or rotate commands

  • Observe the result

Challenge 2: Calculate circumference

  • If Sphero draws a circle with diameter of 1 foot

  • What's the circumference? (About 3.14 feet)

Challenge 3: Create specific circles

  • Draw a circle with circumference of approximately 6.28 feet (diameter 2 feet)

  • Draw a circle with circumference of approximately 9.42 feet (diameter 3 feet)

Math in action: "You're using pi to control robots!"

Closing Celebration (3 min)

Pi memorization challenge: Who knows the most digits? 3.14159265358979323846...

Faith Connection: "Pi shows us that mathematics isn't just something humans invented — it's something we DISCOVERED in God's creation. The same pi that controls your Sphero's circles is in every planet's orbit, every wheel that rolls, every bubble that forms. God built amazing order into creation!"

Closing Prayer: "Thank You, God, for the wonder of pi and the order of Your creation. You are infinite — without beginning or end. Help us see Your fingerprints in mathematics and everywhere we look. Amen."

Optional: Pi Day treats!

✅ Assessment

  • Measured circles and calculated C ÷ D

  • Discovered that the ratio is always pi

  • Applied pi knowledge to Sphero challenge

  • Connected pi's infinity to God's infinity

📎 Home Connection

"We celebrated Pi Day! Ask your child: 'What is pi?' 'How did you discover it?' 'Why is pi amazing?' Find circles at home and estimate their circumference using pi. Challenge: How many digits of pi can your family memorize? Talk about how pi's infinite nature reminds us of God's infinity!"

Lesson Version: 1.0 | **