The Radian Walk

by Jean Kusz-Severson
in the December 1992 issue of The Mathematics Teacher

Students in precalculus and trigonometry classes are expected to know the unit circle. To reinforce learning the angle measures in radians and the corresponding coordinates on the unit circle, I designed a classroom game called the radian walk. This game is similar to a cake walk using the unit circle. Use electrical tape or masking tape to make a unit circle with diameter about twelve feet on the floor in the middle of the classroom. Make the x- and y-axes to mark the 90 degree angles. Label them so that students know the location of 0 radians. Mark the 30 degree, 45 degree, and 60 degree angles in each quadrant. Place a spinner at the origin. Turn on a tape player and have the students walk around the circle until the music stops. At that point each student must be on one of the marked angles of the unit circle. Spin the spinner. The spinner indicates the student who must name her or his coordinates and place on the unit circle. If that student makes a mistake, she or he is eliminated from the game. The person remaining on the circle after all others have dropped out is the winner. If your class size is larger than fifteen or sixteen students, you may want to use two unit circles. The students need to have some knowledge of the unit circle before they play this game. Click below for Ms. Kusz-Severson's Snowman idea which she uses before the Radian Walk. Click here for "Radian, The Snowman"