Discover-a-Relationship Lesson Plan for Lateral Surface Area of a Right Cylinder

Michael Buhler, Jeremy Hidalgo, Melissa Andersen Objective: The student explains why the lateral surface area of a right cylinder equals 2rh (discover a relationship). Stage 1: Experiment We will have the desks arranged into five groups of five. On the desks that make up each group of five will be one of the following cylindrical objects: a. A pencil holder b. A hot chocolate mug c. An old paint bucket d. A cylindrical garbage can e. Small piece of metal pipe. As students begin entering the room, direct them to find the desk with their name tag and read the following directions that will be written on the board.
1. On the back table, you will find a box of rulers, scissors, and a roll of

2. 3. 4.

5. 6.

paper. Each group needs to send one person to get one ruler, a pair of scissors, and enough paper to cover the sides (excluding the top and bottom) of the cylindrical object which has been assigned to your group. Next, wrap the paper around the sides of your object, cutting to fit. After you have cut the paper to fit, unwrap the object and straighten the paper out on your desks. After you have straightened the paper out on your desk tops, describe its shape. What kind of shape is it? If possible, find the area of the paper. Describe and explain what you have discovered about the lateral surface area for a cylinder. Try to decipher how the circumference of a circle relates to the dimensions of a rectangle.

Stage 2: Reflect and Explain About 10 minutes into the experiment, let the groups know that they have about five minutes left and assign someone to be a spokesperson for each group to share their findings with the class. Ask each spokesperson to tell the class what object they had and any findings to item number six above. Engage the class in a class discussion, making sure the following points are emphasized:

Relationship between a circumference of a circle and the length of a rectangle The definition of a right cylinder The meaning of lateral surface area (area of sides minus the top and base)

Stage 3: Hypothesize and Articulate Direct the students to continue to develop and manipulate their experiments. Based upon our class discussion and further experimentation, have each group develop a conjecture as to how the area of a rectangle relates to the circumference of a circle, and how these two concepts together relate to the lateral surface area of a right cylinder. Stage 4: Verify and Refine Have the same spokesman for each group write his/her groups conjecture on the board. Engage students in a discussion where they scrutinize each of the conjectures and finalize a definition of the relationship which exists.

Miniexperiment Prompt: You know that the formula for the lateral surface area of right cylinder is 2rh. Write one paragraph explaining how you came to understand the relationship between the circumference of a circle and the area of a rectangle as it relates to the above formula. Focus your explanations on your discoveries from your experiment in class.

Observers Rubric +1 The student clearly explains the relationship between the circumference of a circle and the area of a rectangle as it relates to the formula for the lateral surface area of a right cylinder. +1 The student supports his argument with knowledge gained from his or her group experiments.