This drawing circumference of circles worksheet has 5th grade students measure true-size circles, draw one with a compass, and find each circumference. An answer key is included for quick checking.
All the way around the circle
Fifth graders learn that circumference is the distance around a circle, and they meet the parts that go with it: the center, the radius and the diameter, which is always twice the radius. Many classes discover that every circle's circumference is a little more than three times its diameter, which is where pi comes from: C = π × d ≈ 3.14 × d. They practice drawing circles with a compass and labeling each part carefully. The click moment is when kids wrap string around a can, lay it next to the diameter and see that "just over three" for themselves.
Circles make so much more sense when kids measure real ones before they ever see a formula.
Hand out cans, lids and plates with string and rulers. Kids measure the distance around and the distance across, then divide. When every group gets about 3.14, the room gets loud in the best way.
Why it works: the U.S. Department of Education's guide for teaching elementary math recommends moving from hands-on objects to drawings to numbers.
Try it withDrawing Circumference of Circles WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →Have kids draw circles with a compass, then label the center, radius, diameter and circumference in different colors. Drawing the parts themselves clears up the radius-versus-diameter mix-up fast.
Why it works: children learn more from words and pictures together than from words alone (Mayer, 2009).
Try it withDrawing Circumference of Circles WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →After measuring, ask "Would a giant circle still be about 3 diameters around?" Let partners argue it out with their data. Talking through the pattern builds real understanding of pi instead of a memorized number.
Why it works: using clear, consistent math words out loud is one of the U.S. Department of Education's recommendations for elementary math.
Teacher favorites right now: Drawing Circumference of Circles Worksheet.
Circumference is the distance around the outside of a circle. It is like the perimeter of a circle.
Circumference equals pi times the diameter, or C = πd. Since the diameter is twice the radius, you can also use C = 2πr.
Many 5th graders meet pi through measuring circles, and formal work with pi usually comes in 7th grade. Discovering it early makes the formula feel obvious later.
The radius goes from the center to the edge. The diameter goes all the way across through the center, so it is twice as long as the radius.
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