Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi:
A Math Adventure
Author: Cindy Neuschwander
Fantasy
Brittney Wells
11/11/2010
About the Author: Cindy Neuschwander
“I was teaching second grade in an international school in Germany and a colleague shared an idea for teaching math to young children. She suggested that stories with mathematical themes or content would teach mathematical ideas more powerfully. I tried using a book to do this and found she was right. When I went home to the United State that summer, I found there were very few books in this area so I decided to try to write one myself. Although the ideas in my first book were mathematically clever, I knew my writing was not very sharp. I took a writing class at a nearby university and learned how to better communicate my ideas. In this way, my book writing career was born.” Moreover, Germany is not the only abroad location in which she has resided.
Today she is settled and teaches third grade in Dublin, CA as a Mathematics education specialist, but has also taught at the high school level. She continues to write, where she focuses on incorporating geometric concepts.
In fact, Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi, written in 1999, is a part of a series which includes: Sir Cumference and the Round Table: A Math Adventure, which covers a multitude of disciplines. These books as well as her others help incorporate literacy across the curriculum. Not only are her books enlightening, but they are quite humorous. For example, the diameter multiplied by pi is the mathematical formula for circumference, which may be difficult to remember. Half of the diameter is the radius, which happens to be the name of Sir Cumference’s son. This is an entertaining play on words, considering Radius, is half his father and half his mother. Was his name a coincidence? I think not.
Conerning her personal life, she is married to a physician and has a son, who attends college.
Opinion of Book:
“I chose Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi: A Math Adventure because it was well written, humorous thereby holding my students attention, and it correlated with geometric math frameworks . More Specifically, the point of the story related directly to G.8.7.5: Model and develop the concept pi (π) is the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of any circle.” Since we just started the geometry section, I felt it was the perfect opportunity to integrate literacy into math. Integrating reading a book to the class I believe helped comprehension of the concept by holding their attention, as well as help commit the concept to long term memory. The students thoroughly enjoyed the lesson, especially since it was an alternative approach to learning, which was further enhanced. Sometimes you need a change, and a good one is always beneficial and fulfilling. I know the students thoroughly enjoyed the way this concept was taught, possibly because it was a different entertaining approach regarding a difficult concept to grasp.
Furthermore, it proved how math and literacy go hand in hand from every aspect. For problem solving to take place, math, a different language, must be interpreted by reading. Throughout life, just as Radius had to utilize problem solving to save his father, we will encounter problems we must overcome and solve.
Formulas needed are often quite hard to remember, especially over time. ("when you don't use it, you lose it!") This book I strongly believe will enable students to remember the formula for future reference. An example would be standardized tests.
Summary:
Sir Cumference and his son, Radius were having a peaceful lunch one day until Sir Cumference got indigestion, which was described in the book as “fire”. Doubled Over, the father ordered Radius to run and find a cure quickly. Radius runs to the castle and gets a potion that is labeled “Fire Belly”. Believing this to be the medicine his father needs, Radius rushes back and Sir Cumference consumes immediately.
The medicine was however not the correct medicine. Moreover, the medicine he consumed turned him immediately into a fire breathing dragon. Radius runs back for help. Other Knights see fire, unaware of the situation, and want to vanquish the dragon.
Radius discusses the matter with his mother, who claims a potion to change him back to his normal self must be found. Furthermore, she warned Radius he only had until early morning to accomplish this intense task or his father would be on the constant run in another form or be slain by the other Knights of the Kingdom.
Not losing momentum, Radius then tore the Doctor’s office apart until he found a “curious looking container with a set of spoons and a poem”.
The poem or riddle was written as follows:
“Measure the middle and circle around,
Divide so a number can be found,
every circle great and small ,
the number is the same for all.
It’s also the dose, so be clever,
Or a dragon he will stay …….
forever”.
He researched the topic by consulting, observing, and assisting the two carpentars and his cousin, Lady Fingers, who was making wheels with spokes and pies with strips of dough, respectively. This information drove him back to the poem located on the potion bottle.
He knew what medicinal potion to administer to his father, yet the dose was questionable, and he was under a great deal of pressure, especially since time was of the essence. Saving his father required a higher order of thinking or problem solving.
Highlight:
The setting is during Medieval times involving the castle and surrounding territory. The plot of Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi: A Math Adventure involves Radius, the protagonist and also Sir Cumference’s son, searching for a curing dose; however, he was doomed for conflict. Moreover, many antagonizing elements in the story played a large role.
Sir Cumference depends on Radius, who must basically perform a scavenger hunt and then think abstractly to calculate the answer. Therefore, the second conflict involves the mental pressures Radius must endure, all the while not helped by the time crunch. The last conflict consists of Radius trying to save his father from death by the Knights of the kingdom, who saw the fire breathing dragon as a threat.
Hook:
· Does Radius determine the correct dose of medicinal potion to save his father.
· Does Radius find the correct dose in time?
· Does Sir Cumference remain a fire breathing dragon or get slain by the dragons?
Read this book to see if Radius saves his father,
Sir Cumference, and also to learn an important
concept regarding pi. There is even a humorous
tidbit of how π, pi received its name.
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