The Librarian Who Measured the Earth

Author: Kathryn Lasky

Publisher/Date: Little, Brown and Company, 1994

ISBN: 0-316-51526-4

Grade Levels Recommended for Use: 6-12

Brief Summary: Eratosthenes was a Greek Scholar who excelled at many different subjects, but most of all he loved geography. Being very curious, he attempted to find out the circumference of the whole world developing a formula which is still is in use to this day!

Topics: circumference, pi

Suggested Activities:

Have the students bring in any round object they can think of such as grapefruits, globes, basketballs, etc. Have students use the circumference formula or measuring the length across to determine the radius. Then students find the perimeter of the object. They can also use protractors to draw arcs and invent their own drawings using various sized circles.