Presentation and Reflections by UM-St.Louis Student Teacher --Winter 2006

DAVE POWERS and
TINA MILLER

WHAT IS PI DAY (FOR TEACHERS)?:
Pi Day is a daylong series of activities that are centered around the mysterious concept of Pi. Pi is a very tough concept for many seventh grade students to grasp. The reason might be because many of these adolescents are not in the abstract stage of cognitive development. They need concrete manipulatives and many of the Pi DAY activities that follow create concrete representations of what the mysterious symbols represents.
Also, Pi Day is all student created, student run, and student manned. This is where much of the learning occurs. The main objective of holding the event is to give students experience taking on responsibilities for people other then themselves. The entire day depends on the organization, creativeness, and fun factor of the activities that have been planned by the students.

So what is the teacher's role?:
Remember, we are dealing with seventh grade students who are not teachers and who are not professionals yet. The reason to have this event is to teach what has not already been learned. The teacher's job is to help the students figure out solutions to problems that occur in the planning stages and on the day of the event. Teachers are to help students think for themselves, but teachers are not there to solve problems for the students.

As students are planning the stations, ask them what their goals for their station (activity). Ask about and discuss with them the materials they will need to accomplish the task. Ask them what their plans are for accomplishing their goals. As you see where things might go wrong, DON'T FIX the problem for the students. Use the information to plan ahead yourself.

Let the students learn how to solve problems by thinking on their feet.
Use your ability to plan ahead to make sure solutions are possible for the students to figure out.

FOR EXAMPLE: A group has planned a Pi walk, and the questions they are planning to ask only take fifteen minutes to read and solve. Problem is the group planned on it taking forty minutes. The THE TEACHER BEHIND THE SCENES: MAYBE AN EXTRA BOOK OF PI RELATED QUESTIONS IS JUST SITTING AROUND THE ROOM for the planners to find (or ask for). What a coincidence!

The Paper Chain:

Students use different colored slips of paper to create a “paper chain” representing pi. Each color represents a different digit of pi (i.e. green=1, yellow=2, blue=3, etc.). The students work together on the first ten digits to make sure they comprehend a concrete version first ten digits. After that the objective is to make the chain as long as possible. The students seem to really feel the concept of irrational numbers after they saw the length of the chain at the end of the day and they still wee not complete.

The Pi-Legged Race:

The Pi-Legged Race was a hit with our seventh graders. This outdoor event, when combined with other outdoor activities, gives the Pi Day a field day feel. Students make a course out of cones. Then, each person ties their own ankles together with a short piece of rope. Then two teammates put their hands on each others shoulders and are tied together around their arms. Teams have to use efficient methods of communication to hop through the course. Have the best time in the class and end up in the Team Finals held at the end of the day.

The Discuss Throw:

Students have to heave discuss as far as they possibly can down a straight line and then they measure the distance. Any distance away from the straight line is subtracted off the total distance. For students who have learned the Pythagorean theorem, the exact distance thrown can be figured out also to have a different kind of contest going on also. Measure the distance down the straight line and measure the distance away from the line. Use Pythagorean theorem to figure diagonal length.

The Balloon Toss:

The balloon toss is the second field day-like activity during Pi Day. This event is a traditional balloon toss with a twist. The winners do not win until they correctly answer this question, “what is the circumference of a circle with the diameter you just tossed? (the distance between the two winning players).”

Memorize the Digits of Pi Contest:

This was a hit with many different levels of learners. Students were instructed to practice memorizing the digits of pi the week and night before Pi Day. Many amazing real life stories were read to the students about others who memorized a ridiculous amount of digits of pi. Then on Pi Day, students had the chance to recite as many digits from their memory as possible. Then the students were read stories regarding the used of the number pi (codes, credit cards, etc.).

The Pi-Walk:

In this station, students walk around a rig of circles dancing to popular seventh grade music (student provided). When the music stops, a number is read. Whoever is standing on the particular number circle, reads the question on the bottom. Then, the class works together to answer the question so they can continue and have a chance to win. The person who reads the question receives a piece of candy.

The traditional lesson of the day “Circumference and Area Review”

The teacher reviews the concepts of circumference and area of circles with the class. Then, the “real life” circumference problems are posted around the room. The students must solve problems like which Imo's Pizza is a better buy (unit rate) the 10”, 12”, or 14” pizza.

Pi Day Bracelets:

Much the same as the Paper Chain event, the different colored beads are assigned a different digit. Students have to make a bracelet using the beads in the correct order. This activity is another fun way to expose students to the first ten-twenty digits of pi.

Button Making Station:

This was a station that targeted the creative art side of the students we see in our core classes. Though many students use art in their projects and presentations in our core classes, there were no requirements on these buttons. The students decorated their pieces of paper and then used the button maker to create a actual button out of their design.