Pi Twenty-Four Hours 2014 Celebration

Due to existence out of schoolhouse on Pi Day together with attention STEM Day the hateful solar daytime before, nosotros had to celebrate an early on Pi Day on March 12th. My students didn't seem to attention that nosotros weren't truly celebrating on March 14th. And, hopefully, y'all won't attention that I'm lastly getting some to posting this MONTHS later.

Students entered the classroom to live wished a Happy (Early) Pi Day!

Happy (Early) Pi Day!

Several days earlier our celebration, I informed them of the upcoming holiday. Most of my students had never heard of pi hateful solar daytime before. I invited students to acquire into Drumright High School's First Annual Pi Recitation Contest. I told them nigh a website called Pi Trainer that volition aid them memorize the digits of pi, but I'm non certain if whatsoever of my students truly used it.

Digits of Pi Memorization Contest

If I produce tell together with then myself, the prizes for the pi recitation challenger were pretty awesome. The winner from each of my vi degree periods got their selection of a box of candy. Well, my 6th threescore minutes winner got what was left, but all my other winners got to pick.

Prizes for Pi Recitation Contest

And, the educatee who memorized the most digits all hateful solar daytime won the grand prize. All of the snacks inward the grand prizes were circle shaped. Appropriate, right? :)

One of my students commented that this was "Diabetes inward a bag." I told them that if they won that they were welcome to portion their goodies amongst a friend. They didn't take away maintain to swallow it all themselves! And, they peculiarly didn't demand to to swallow it all inward 1 setting!

Pi Recitation Contest Grand Prize

In my excitement of celebrating Pi Day inward grand fashion for the origin time, I planned agency to a greater extent than activities than could live achieved inward a 50-minute period. I ended upwards doing dissimilar activities amongst each of my classes.

Do y'all know what supplies y'all demand for an awesome pi hateful solar daytime celebration? String, toothpicks, together with lawn tennis balls. What produce these take away maintain to produce amongst pi? Read together with see!

Pi Day Supplies

I stole all of my pi hateful solar daytime activities from this link.

First hour, nosotros did a cutting pi activity.

Cutting Pi

Students looked some the room to uncovering circular objects to trace.

Then, they cutting a slice of string equal to the circumference of their circle.

Next, they stretched the string across the diameter of their circle together with cutting it. Repeat. Repeat. Wait, my string forthwith exclusively goes across 14% of the diameter. Well, that's what was supposed to happen. My students didn't produce the best chore of measurement together with cutting, together with then exclusively 1 grouping ended upwards achieving pi pieces of string inward the end.

I decided to skip this activeness inward my subsequently hours together with attempt something different. We tried tossing pi instead of cutting pi.

Here are the instructions:

Tossing Pi Part 1

Tossing Pi Part 2

Ideally, this activity, also known every bit Buffon's Needles, is used to orbit an approximation of pi. Some of my group's approximations were much to a greater extent than accurate than others.

Students had to piece of employment carefully to build parallel lines whose distance apart was the exact length of a toothpick.

Giving students toothpicks ofttimes leads to unintended activities. One grouping decided to brand pretty designs amongst their toothpicks.

Another grouping was highly disappointed when I wouldn't give them to a greater extent than toothpicks to move on edifice their toothpick tower.

Students set their papers on the flooring together with tossed the toothpicks from their desktops.

After tossing all of their toothpicks, they used the given formula to justice pi. We didn't truly take away maintain much fourth dimension to acquire into why just this procedure works.

After all, nosotros had other things to produce similar swallow pie!

Students asked if nosotros could take away maintain pie on pi day. I told them nosotros would gladly swallow pie if they brought it.

My 5th together with 6th threescore minutes classes each had a educatee convey a yummy pie to portion amongst the class. The pie cutting together with eating took upwards a chunk of time, together with these classes ended upwards doing less activities than my morn classes. But, they got to swallow pie, together with then I don't recollect in that place was whatsoever complaining!

5th Hour's Pi Day Pie

6th Hour's Pi Day Pie

I beloved incorporating music together with singing into my classroom fifty-fifty though I recollect I'm a pretty terrible singer. I sang a lot to a greater extent than this past times year, together with none of my students always lay their hands over their ears together with screamed, together with then I guess I'm non likewise bad.

First hour, I gave my students the choice of singing The Pi Song which is to the melody of "Are You Sleeping?" My students did non desire to participate. So, I made a fool of myself together with sang the vocal past times myself. For the remainder of the day, I didn't give students the choice of singing. I merely announced, "Now, nosotros are going to sing The Pi Song. It's to the melody of "Are You Sleeping?" After singing a few bars of the original, I asked, "Are y'all ready? We're going to sing together on the count of three." And, all of my classes participated. My 2nd catamenia Algebra ii degree truly got into the song, together with they didn't desire to halt singing it.

The Pi Song

We sang the vocal at to the lowest degree twice inward all of my subsequently classes. The janitor came inward the room to empty the trash during 1 of the songs, together with I'm pretty certain that she thinks I'm crazy. Oh well...

We also took a piddling over 3 minutes to acquire what pi sounds like. My band students constitute this video to live riveting! [Video embedded below. If y'all are reading this inward your e-mail, y'all may demand to click over to meet the video!]

One of my students proclaimed, "This is proof that math tin sack live beautiful! And, I didn't recollect I would always tell that."

The head resultant of the hateful solar daytime was the origin annual recitation contest. Most of my students had non practiced exterior of class, together with then I agreed to set a timer for 3 minutes to give them some extra review time. One of my students countered that they deserved 3 minutes together with xiv seconds to practice. I agreed that this was plumbing equipment together with gave him a slice of candy to vantage his creative mind!

Pi Recitation Contest

Since pi is was projected on the SMART Board together with on my filing cabinet inward the dorsum of the room, I made students stand upwards inward the dorsum corner of the room, facing the door, to recite their digits of pi.

My Pi Filing Cabinet :)

I projected the digits on the board inward columns of 5 together with then students could easily follow along amongst the educatee who was reciting. This made calculating the let out of digits they recited correctly much faster.

The winner, 1 of my eighth degree Algebra 1 students, memorized 43 digits of pi. Another eighth grader had memorized to a greater extent than digits, but he sadly made a error inward his recitation. You could tell that he was take in broken.

I used plot.ly to brand a beautiful box plot of the let out of digits memorized past times each student. This does non take away maintain into concern human relationship the many students who did non participate inward the memorization contest.

One of the awesome things nigh procrastinating inward writing this weblog post is that I exclusively learned nigh plot.ly a few weeks ago. See, it pays to procrastinate sometimes!

Digits of Pi Memorized By My Students for Pi Day 2014

My mom picked upwards some boxes of nerds candy for me during Valentine's clearance time, together with then I gave them away every bit prizes inward the side past times side contest. Unlike the pi recitation contest, this challenger required no science or effort.

We searched pi to uncovering out whose birthday showed upwards the farthest inward the digits of pi. The link nosotros used to search pi was http://www.angio.net/pi/piquery

Searching Pi

As nosotros looked upwards each student's birthday inward pi, they wrote the digit place of their birthday on their dry out erase boards. The educatee amongst the highest let out won the candy!

Throughout the degree period, I showed pi hateful solar daytime comics betwixt each of our activities. I saved all the comics I used to my Pi Day Pinterest Board. One of my favorite ones to demo each degree was this e-card.

May I take away maintain a large container of coffee?

I lay it upwards on the board without explanation. When the students read it, I wishing I had thought to take away maintain a motion-picture demo of their confused expressions. What does this take away maintain to produce amongst pi day? Is this a joke? I don't acquire it! Why did y'all lay this upwards there? Is it because she has cups inward her hands together with the move past times of the loving cup is round?

I assured them that it was related to pi day, together with I had organized religious belief inward them that they could figure it out if they lay their minds to it. Eventually, the kids were begging together with pleading amongst me to explicate the joke. Tell us, please! We desire to know!

I gave inward together with asked the degree how many letters were inward the origin discussion inward the sentence. 3. How many letters are inward the 2nd word? 1. What nigh the 3rd word? 4. Light bulbs started coming on. My students admitted that it was pretty cool, but they were however a tad mad at me for "trying to play tricks [them]".

I unopen out each degree catamenia amongst an activeness called Seeing Pi.

Seeing Pi

Seeing Pi asks a thought-provoking question. Which value is greater - the summit of the tin sack of lawn tennis balls or the circumference of the tin sack of lawn tennis balls?

To me, the response is obvious. But, my origin instinct was wrong. Try writing out a mathematical aspect for both. You mightiness merely live surprised, too!

In 1 of my classes, my students refused to believe the mathematics. We ended upwards cutting a slice of string the length of the circumference together with belongings it upwards to the lawn tennis ball can. This made believers out of them!

I also had planned on showing some pi hateful solar daytime youtube videos, but I showed upwards at schoolhouse to realize that my schoolhouse had decided to block youtube all of a sudden. So frustrating!

This video helps students memorize the origin twenty-five digits of pi. It's kinda catchy.

Another video I wished I had fourth dimension to demo my students was this Numberphile video on how pi was almost changed to 3.2. Interesting stuff!

So, in that place y'all take away maintain it. This is how nosotros celebrated Pi Day inward the tiny town of Drumright, Oklahoma. I'm hoping to brand side past times side year's Pi Day celebration bigger together with better. Is it bad that 1 of the origin things I produce when I acquire the schoolhouse calendar for the side past times side twelvemonth is to depository fiscal establishment check together with meet if nosotros volition live inward schoolhouse pivot Pi Day? Sadly, Pi Day 2015 volition live on a Saturday.

I've however got a ton of pi hateful solar daytime activities together with ideas that I haven't got a endangerment to run yet. Good affair I'm non planning on quitting this profession whatsoever fourth dimension soon!