Pi Day

Thursday, March 14th is a favorite math day of mine. Most of my students have no idea that it is Pi Day, so they are always pleasantly surprised! It's a perk of teaching younger kiddos.
Our Pi Day started out as a normal day. In math class, we took a break from decimals and spent some time learning about circles and measuring angles. We watched a great Brain-pop video on circles that introduced us to Pi.

Then in the afternoon we had our Pi Day celebration. I started off by watching the Brain-pop video on Pi. It gets my students thinking, even though some of it is a lot more detailed than we get into as 4th graders. My students then had the chance to experiment. They measured different cylinder items (salt, Clorox wipes, soup can, and a spice container.) The students measured the diameter of each item and the circumference.

Once every group had measured every item we took the time to "notice" the relationship between the diameter and circumference. The students then help me measure the diameter of our ice cream pie and we determine the circumference using Pi. The students then get a nice big piece of pie to eat while I read the book Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi. I love this book because it explains Pi in a kid friendly way.

 Once the book is finished the students can do a number of different activities, Pi word search, crossword, or just color a picture of the Pi symbol. It was a great way to end the day! What is your favorite way to celebrate Pi Day?