Teachers in many classrooms celebrate Pi Day this month. Pi -- the number 3.14… -- gets its own special day on 3/14, or March 14. Ed World editors have gathered a collection of links to ideas and activities that will help you plan a Pi Day celebration for your classroom or school.
If one day of the year screams Party! in math class, that day is March 14. Each year on 3/14, teachers in classrooms across the globe take a break from the normal routine to plan a special celebration in honor of pi, or the number 3.14...
March 14 also happens to be the birth date of Albert Einstein -- which makes the day an extra special one for planning math challenges and math fun!
According to Dr. Math, Pi Day activities are meant to enrich and deepen students' understanding of the concept of pi. Activities might include investigations of the value of pi, special pi projects, and parties with pizza or other kinds of "pi."
Because pi is 3.14159…, some schools hold their big Pi Day celebrations at oon 3/14 at exactly 1:59 p.m.
Education World editors recently took some time to surf the Internet in search of ideas around which teachers might build Pi Day celebrations. The resources below offer a library of great activities, lesson plans, and other resources to help you celebrate Pi Day in style!
We have gathered more than 2-dozen links to Pi Day activity ideas. (Appropriate grade levels for each lesson resource appear in parentheses.)
Pi Day Lessons from the Math Forum (Grades 5-8)
Making a Pi Necklace (Grades 5-8)
Pi Day Songs
Pi Day Activities (Grades 4-12)
3.14 Trivia Game
Pi Day Connections (Grades 6-12)
Use 10 different colors of construction paper. Choose a different color to represent each digit, 0 to 9. For example: 1=red, 2=blue, 3=green, 4=yellow… In that way, 3.141 would have rings of green, then red, then yellow, then red. Continue creating the chain for 3.14159…
See this activity and others at Pi Day (Week) Math Lessons. |
|
Pi Day (Week) Math Lessons (Grades 4-12)
Discovering Pi (Grades 5-7)
Discovering the Value of Pi (Grades 5-8)
PiQuest (Grades 7-8)
What Is Pi? A Cool Lesson (Grades 5-8)
Circles in Geometry (Grades 3-5)
Pi Day Activities for Geometry Classes (Grades 9-12)
Pi Day Activities for Trigonometry Classes (Grades 9-12)
Pi Day Activities for Algebra II Classes (Grades 9-12)
Pi Day Activities (All grades)
Pi Day WebQuest (Grades 6-8)
The Derivation of Pi (Grades 6-8)
Pi Activities & More (Grades 7-12)
Creating Pi Poetry (Grades 6-12)
Cross-Curricular Activities for Pi Mathematics (Grades 5-8)
Proving Pi (Grades 9-12)
(Pizza) Pi Project (Grades 4-8)
Buffon's Needle: An Analysis and Simulation (Grades 9-12)
Monte Carlo Estimation for Pi (Grades 9-12)
Pi Day in Math Classrooms (Grades 8-12)
Pi Day Contest (Grades 4-12) (Not updated since 2006)
Pi Day Ideas from Mrs. Highley (Grades 4-12)
Read aloud the book Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi: A Math Adventure by Cindy Neuschwander. When Sir Cumference drinks a potion that turns him into a dragon, his son Radius searches for the magic number -- known as pi -- that will restore him to his former shape.
|
|
Ask Dr. Math: What Is Pi?
Project Mathematics: The Story of Pi
3.14 Middle School Pi Day
Pi Day Greeting Cards from 123Greetings.com
The Pi Trivia Game
Pi Day Songs
Finding the Value of Pi
Slice of Pi, Anyone?
A History of Pi
Ask Dr. Math: Middle School Pi
Pi Pages on the Internet
Archimedes and the Computation of Pi
Graphics for the Calculus Classroom: Archimedes' Calculation of Pi
Let's Take Another Look at Pi Day
"Let Pi Be" Song (Scroll down the page.)
Where Is Your Birthday in Pi?
Article by Gary Hopkins
Education World®
Copyright © 2008 Education World
Originally published 03/04/2004
Links last updated 02/04/2008
|
