Last week I went to math night at my school. It took place on 3-14, Pi day! Each grade from Pre-K through 8th came up with a couple of math games and activities. The games/activates were set up and run by the classes (the activities did not have to do with Pi, although it was encouraged to try to come up with connected to Pi). Teachers worked with the students to help them generate idea and prepare for the evening. When I walked into the gym my students had prepared the table with my partner teacher. The gym was bustling with activity. It seems like this is the most popular evening activity at my school. Student and parents were all moving around the room excitedly changing from table to table.
My students had two activities at their table. One activity was to write Pi Poetry. We cut out circles for the poetry to be written on. The idea of the poetry was that the first word should be a three letter word, the second a one letter word, the third a four letter word and so on. In class my students came up with word lists that we had hung up for people (since figuring out the different words is challenging on the spot). The second activity was called “Discovering Pi”. People were to measure the diameter and circumference of several different circles and find that the relationship is that the circumference is about three times the diameter, or Pi! How fun!
Students were to take turns, in shifts, manning the tables. There was one student who very much wanted to man the “Discovering Pi” table, so he spent the whole evening at the table. All the other students rotated between the tables and engaging in activities run by the other grades. It was so fun to see the students having such a good time learning! I also loved the opportunity to watch the students take leadership roles with both adults and other children.
rebeccaaf 