Here we go -“Round and Round”

Circle is considered to be a part that can be neglected at the early level of math education but many fail to foresee the impact of such negligence.Circle forms the basis of many theorems and concepts like loci, planetary motion etc., Since it appears to be an easy topic,the approach usually followed is by using the black board and directly introducing the terms like radius and diameter.

As a person in the field of education we should ensure that the early concept of circle is taught well and in an interesting manner.The kids at elementary level usually have a greater comprehension which should be utilized in the positive manner from our side.

Divide the students into pairs and take them to the playground.Firstly ask them to draw a perfect circle on the ground.Initially ,the students will struggle to get a perfect and a bigger circle by drawing free hand.Ask them to come up with an idea where they would get a perfect circle,create a brainstorming session by providing examples of one fixed and one moving point like, a cattle driven oil mill.This is to let the children come up with the idea of fixed point and a moving arm i.e one student should have a rope tied to the stick fixed at one point and the other must start drawing the circle with the free end of the rope.Once this is figured out by the students,ask them to measure the length from the fixed point to multiple points on the circle and note their observations

In continuation with the outdoor activity, give each pair, a sheet of paper and ask them to get a circle by paper folding without using the geometry box(fold the given paper into square and mark a curve at the bottom,as shown in image below) and ask them to find the center,radius and diameter of the circle by only folding and to name the same.The paper folding activity has always captured the attention of the elementary kids.We see it as a problem but this can be used in our favor. This will ensure that the students become their own teachers i.e. they learn from their findings and learning which will last in their memory for long.

In order to involve the students better, add an essence of competition i.e. ask each pair to present their method of folding and markings and, convey that the group which does the best presentation will be rewarded with extra-points.

Later, ask the students to create their own poster, where they will illustrate the outdoor activity, the paper folding activity either in the form of pictures or words.The same can be displayed in the classroom.

Observation:

1. The students find it interesting when they go to the ground and learn also they come up with idea very quickly and tend to help each other better.
2. The paper folding activity also tends to attract the interest towards learning math and the group activity tends to help in building the concept of peer learning.
3. The students remember the concept for a long time and it is observed that they have a good knowledge about the concept which will be very helpful when they learn the theorems related to the circle in the future.