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Plan a Pi Day Party for March 14

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. EdWorld 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 3/14 at exactly 1:59 p.m.

Education World editors 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!

Lesson Plans and Other Activities for Pi Day

We have gathered more than two dozen links to Pi Day activity ideas. (Appropriate grade levels for each lesson resource appear in parentheses.)

 

Make a Pi Chain

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.

March 14 Is Pi Day!

Circumference of a Circle Lesson

Area of a Circle

Great Pi Day Activities for Teachers

How to Celebrate Pi Day

Pi Day WebQuest

Pi Day Lessons from the Math Forum (Grades 5-8)

Making a Pi Necklace (Grades 5-8)

The Derivation of Pi (Grades 6-8)

Proving Pi (Grades 9-12)

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 Ideas from Mrs. Highley (Grades 4-12)

Pi Day Connections (Grades 6-12)

PiQuest (Grades 7-8)

Circles in Geometry (Grades 3-5)

Pi Day Activities (All grades)

Cross-Curricular Activities for Pi Mathematics (Grades 5-8)

Pi Day Activities for Trigonometry Classes (Grades 9-12) (archived copy)

Pi Day Activities for Algebra II Classes (Grades 9-12) (archived copy)

Additional Resources

Ask Dr. Math: What Is Pi?

Pi Day Greeting Cards from 123Greetings.com

Pi Day Songs

Finding the Value of Pi

Slice of Pi, Anyone?

A History of Pi

Ask Dr. Math: Middle School Pi

The Joy of Pi

Archimedes and the Computation of Pi

Graphics for the Calculus Classroom: Archimedes' Calculation of Pi

Let's Take Another Look at Pi Day

Where Is Your Birthday in Pi?

Poetry for Pi Day

Article by Gary Hopkins
Education World®
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Updated 02/23/2015