Measuring Wilkw (Cedar) Circumference

When we were talking about what we noticed and wondered about cedar trees, one of the students wondered about the circumference of the trees. Today we brainstormed ways we could compare the circumference of the cedars in our forest if we didn’t have any measuring tools. The students had many ideas:

  • measure with our steps around the tree
  • make a rope with grass
  • hold hands around the tree
  • twist bark together to make rope
  • use our hands

We discussed that whatever we chose to use, we would have to use the same unit to measure all the trees or we wouldn’t be able to compare their size.

We set off for the forest and chose 6 cedars that we would measure.  We labelled them with the numbers 1-6 in Kwak’wala as well as the animal name for each tree from the story, The Six Cedar Trees.

Next we decided on a unit we would use to measure the circumference of each tree with our partner. Some of the trees were tricky to measure.

We recorded our measurements and then compared our results with other groups to see if we agreed which tree had the greatest circumference and which had the least.

We didn’t all have the same result so we went and got yarn so that we could check.  In the photo you can see a comparison of the greatest circumference to the least circumference.

Tomorrow we will head back to the forest (if the weather cooperates) to talk more about circumference!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *