Pi Day is pretty much the perfect day for celebration- especially if you’re lucky enough to teach math. Think about it- it’s this wonderful combination of mathematics, food, and word play! There’s something for everyone.
So, let’s dig in and check out some simple, fun ways to add math fun to your math class during the week of Pi Day:
Pi Day (and pie) math maze
One of my favorite ways to get students practicing math is with math mazes. In this Pi Day Area maze students figure out how much pie is left in a pie tin. They assume that the pies are 1 inch deep so there’s no need to know the formula for volume of a cylinder.
You can get this maze for free by signing up for the Free Maze of the Month Club. You’ll get this Pi Day maze now and a free maze every month from now on.
Grab this free Pi Day maze here.
Plus, here’s even more math maze activities that would be perfect for Pi Day festivities:
- Area & Circumference of a Circle Mazes
- Rational or Irrational Number Math Mazes
- Approximating Irrational Numbers Math Mazes
Pi Day inspired review games
Math in the Middle shares a simple math game called Pi Day Attack. All you need is a whiteboard and the willingness to put your drawing skills to use! It’s an easy way to review any topic you’re learning while still celebrating Pi Day.
This is a simple twist that takes a review activity or game, and makes it instantly seasonally relevant.
Pi Day Escape Room Challenge
The Pi Day Digital Escape Room is a festive activity will help students practice finding area and circumferences of circles. It’s a fun activity for Pi Day or really any day. Students love escape rooms, and this activity challenges students to solve various problems using pi.
This activity is completed in Google Slides. Students complete 3 puzzles by completing 12 digital task cards, solving a puzzle, and revealing a mystery word. For each puzzle, students uncover a code and check to see if that code is correct, giving them a quick way to check if they’re on the right path.
This activity will get your students engaged in doing math. This works great as a digital practice, partner, or homework activity.
Embrace Geometry
If you happen to be teaching geometry concepts of circular shapes around this time, you’re in luck. If not, consider a bit of cyclical review to coincide with talking about Pi Day.
Take, for example, this whole class area and circumference knockout game. The game board (projected for the whole class to see) really fits the Pi Day theme:
This fun, and engaging game, is a great way to get my students reviewing circumference and area of circles.
Silly Pi Day humor
Cheesy math jokes level up this time of year. The International Business Times has a great round up of cheesy jokes that would get any student groaning 🙂 Here are some of my favorites:
- Never talk to Pi. He’ll go on forever.
- What do you get when you cut a Jack-o-Lantern by its diameter? Pumpkin pi.
- What is the official animal of Pi Day? The pi-thon.
Pi Day trivia
Pi Day brings a great opportunity to get super nerdy about math. Take this question, for example: What is the record for the most recited digits of pi by one person? Rajveer Meena, a 21 year old student, holds the current record of 70,000. Isn’t that mind-blowing?
Playing this Pi Day Trivia Guesses and Wagers game is a fun way for students to learn more about the value and history of pi. It’s great for the week of Pi Day.
This game is played by sharing the questions with the whole class. When playing in class, students work in small groups to make estimates and create their best guess. Then, all guesses are displayed and the groups place their “wager” chips on the guesses they feel are most reasonable.
It can also be played as a trivia game with multiple choice answers, giving another option that could be used with students in a distance learning setting.
One fun thing about playing a Pi Day trivia game is that it doesn’t require specific math skills. Students in 6th-12th grade can enjoy this game. It’s great for below grade level, on-grade, or advanced math classes. It’s a perfect activity to get students talking about numbers and math while having fun at the same time.
For an even more in depth look at trivia and facts around what many mathematicians call the most intriguing number, check out 50 Interesting Facts About Pi. Talking about the discovery of a number like pi can open up a dialog about history, research, and how we learn about the world we live in. If you have the opportunity, it could even open the doors to a cross curricular exploration.
More inspiration
Whether you’re teaching the geometry of circular shapes, reviewing irrational numbers, or bringing a Pi Day flair to some other math topic, we hope these ideas help you bring some whimsy and fun into your classroom this week.
Want even more Pi Day inspiration? Check out these 9 easy activities for Pi Day, including a free choice board for students.
So bring on the Pi Day shirts, the delicious pies, and the celebration of math. Happy Pi Day everyone! We hope it’s a fun math day for you and your students.
