Pi Day Activities

How will you celebrate PI Day on Tuesday, March 14? I'm sure you have the basic math ideas already ... but what about creative writing, games, and crafts? Here are a few ideas to consider ... 

Idea 1 - a game:

In groups, have students race to see who can be the first to roll the first 10 digits of pi. You’ll need some 10-sided dice and a template for the first 10 digits like this:

Idea 2 - a paper chain:

Create a PI DAY chain with loops of construction paper. Use a different color for each of the 10 digits. How long will your chain be?

Idea 3 - creative writing:

Write "PI-Ku" poems ... modeled after Haiku. Who can write a meaningful poem using the first 10 digits of PI?

First line: 3 syllables
Second line: 1 syllable
Third line: 4 syllables

Fourth line: 1 syllable

Fifth line: 5 syllables

And so on ... 

Idea 4 - music:

Create PI - Music. In pairs, assign students a digit 1 - 9. Let 0 = a rest. Each pair must come up with a unique sound for their digit, which might include a musical instrument if those are handy, electronic notes if computers are available, or tapping, clapping, or banging. Display the first 20 (or more digits of pi). Students "play" their sound when you point to a digit. Practice your PI symphony until students can play it smoothly.

Idea 5 - art:

Using graph paper, fill in the blocks based on the first 20+ digits of PI. Color the books black. Then wash the paper with watercolors to represent the sky.

Idea 6 - word fun:

In pairs or small groups, ask students to brainstorm as many words as they can that start with PI-.  Then go around the room, each pair or group naming a unique word until there is a last group with one more PI- word.  That group wins the prize!

Check out these books - for added fun!

Growth Mindset, Picture Books, The First Two Weeks of School!

I LOVE picture books!  I love sharing them with students of all ages!

1.  Everyone loves a story!
2.  Picture books are short enough to read aloud.
3.  While the text and pictures are engaging, there are often complex themes to which you can make great connections with older students - yes, even high schoolers!
4.  Picture books can spark the discussion that you want to have with students!

Here are a few excellent books to consider when discussing, illustrating, and connecting to growth mindset!  There are more as well!

Adventures with Books!

So I haven't posted here much this year!  But I'm still interested ... just trying to figure out what to share since I'm not active in the classroom.

In the meanwhile, I've begun a new adventure ... with Usborne Books & More.  I don't consider myself a salesperson, but I do care a lot about children and about literacy!  So putting those two together to become a book lady made sense.

Usborne Books & More is an award-winning publisher of children's books (birth to 14+).  The company chooses to sell most of its books through independent consultants instead of bookstores.  I've had Facebook parties, home parties and participated in kids' events in booths.  It's a great way to talk to people about the value of literacy and share good books! (There's more to the company too ... book fairs, fundraisers and grants! I'll share more on those later).

Already I have several favorites!




I love, love, love the academy series!  Not pictured are the Science Academy, Astronaut Academy, and Pilot Academy.  These are activity books ... perfect for upper elementary. Kids learn while doing fun activities - a real summer boredom buster!















I started this series ... and loved The Four Fingered Man!  I read it with a group of third graders, but I want to read the rest of the series just because!

I have this creative writing book ... been thinking about improving my writing skills :) Really - if you have a child, niece or nephew that loves writing ... this is a great gift! And there are several books in this series: My First Story Writing Book; Write Your Own Story Book; Write Your Own Adventure Stories; Write Your Own Mystery & Suspense Stories; and Draw Your Own Comics! There is a story writing book for every budding writer!

And of course I need to mention math, right? 


This one is a sticker book!  We have wipe clean practice books and lift the flap math books as well ... fun practice for elementary children!

I'm having fun sharing books and literacy tips!  If you are interested in knowing more, join my VIP Facebook group ... it's no pressure, fun way to look at reading with and to kids!  

Favorite Education Books

Writing about my favorite education books is a tall order ... I love to read, and I especially love to read about education topics.

Here are a few of my favorites ... books that stay close by ... books that are ear-marked with sticky notes!

The Strategic Teacher: Selecting the Right Research-Based Strategy for Every Lesson by Silver,

Strong, and Perini
The subtitle ... selecting the right research-based strategy ... is why I like this book. I like the study of strategies and like knowing that lessons can be improved by using strategic structures. I wrote about using this book for lesson planning here, here, and here!


Total Participation Techniques: Making Every Student an Active Learner by Himmele and Himmele

Again ... it's the subtitle that caught my eye ... I want every student to be an active learner. In this book there are numerous structures for class activities, for getting students to participate! I wrote about ideas from this book here!

Teaching Numeracy: 9 Critical Habits to Ignite Mathematical Thinking by Pearse and Walton

Can I say it again ... the subtitle ... igniting mathematical thinking!  YES!  The authors make the connection between elementary reading strategies and math ... applying those strategies to mathematical thinking. While this book says it is written for K - 8, there are applications for secondary math teachers. I wrote about the critical habits in several posts ... you can find the posts here!

I've mentioned my favorite books on questions, questioning in more than one blog post. Here is that list:

• Good Questions for Math Teaching: Why Ask Them and What to Ask, K-6 by Sullivan and Lilburn
• Good Questions for Math Teaching, Grades 5-8: Why Ask Them and What to Ask by Anderson and Schuster
• Good Questions: Great Ways to Differentiate Mathematics Instruction by Marian Small
• More Good Questions: Great Ways to Differentiate Secondary Mathematics Instruction by Small and Lin

For inspiration, I read Teaching with Heart: Poetry that Speaks to the Courage to Teach by Intrator and Scribner.

Last I love picture books. These are not necessarily "education" books but they help me wrap my head around the simplicity and beauty of math. Picture books are great for introducing lessons. I've catalogued a number of books on this Pinterest page. Here are a few specific favorites!

• Missing Math - a number mystery is a rhyming story about all the numbers disappearing. This book would be a great book to start the year. What if there were no numbers - how would that affect our lives!?! 
• If the World Were a Village is an awesome book about statistics and percentages. The author crunched numbers and presents the world as if there were just 100 people. The book is a colorful similarity to a website with a similar title: 100 People: A World Portrait.
• Infinity and Me sparked an idea for an enrichment choice board that I wrote about in a previous blog post.

I look forward to reading about everyone else's favorite education books!

#MTBoSBlaugust Read to your Math Students ... Favorite Picture Books

When I was an elementary principal, I started a collection of picture books. I LOVE them! Even as a high school math teacher I used a picture book or two to highlight a concept. So last week I saw a tweet about math picture books that caught my eye. I decided it was time for a trip to the local library!

There are so many gems ... but these 12 belong in your secondary math class!  Check them out, read them, and link them to your curriculum!  Your students will love "story time!"

You have to read On a Beam of Light!  It's a great short biography of Einstein!  Combine that book with What Do You Do with an Idea and you have a great motivational set for challenging students to pursue "ideas!"  Add to that two other biographies ... you could easily spend 15 minutes each week (or every 2 weeks or once a month) ... fun easy reads ... The Librarian Who Measured the Earth (Eratosthenes) and The Boy who Loved Math (Erdos) would be excellent choices!

 Last week I was so inspired by the book, Infinity and Me, I put together an enrichment activity on infinity.  If you missed it, you can find it here.  Each of these books are special ...
If: A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers for studying very large numbers and ratios, One Grain of Rice for exponential functions, Anno's Magic Seeds for collecting data.  Each one could be the basis of enrichment activities.  

Patterns are the foundational concept in math!  These picture books relate to Fibonacci sequence and fractals.  Add Blockhead: the Life of Fibonacci to your list of biographies to read!  Use The Rabbit Problem and/or Growing Patterns to illustrate the Fibonacci sequence.  And then explore fractals with Mysterious Patterns ... a great introduction to the topic!

What picture books do you  readwith your secondary math students?  Share the titles in the comments!  I'm looking for more :)

BTW ... if you are an elementary or middle grades teacher reading this post, there are many, many books for your math picture book library.  Here is a link to a list for you!