Pi and Poetry: introducting students to pilish

March 14th is the annual celebration of everyone's favorite irrational number. While doing some research on pi, I learned about pilish, writing based on the pi's digits. I was immediately intrigued. The key to pilish is matching the words to specific digits. There are special rules for 0 and repeating digits. During a meeting with one of my fellow teachers from the ELA team, I mentioned pilish and offered my first attempt:

Now I fret
A dream abandoned me
Sacred sleep hex

Thankfully, my fellow teacher didn't judge my poetry, but did think it would be a great supplement to the poetry unit. While I reviewed circumference, radius, and diameter, she completed a lesson on pilish poetry. Students had to write a poem that was a minimum of 10 words long. The results: impressive. The kids found it challenging and many rose to meet it. They even added decorations beyond the original assignment.

 

In a follow up meeting regarding the lesson, we agreed that students wouldn't soon forget those pi digits.

Of course, I am by no means an expert on pilish, but it's something I want to use again next year (leading up to pi day this time). The Guardian has a very interesting article on pi haiku. This week's challenge: write some more pilish!

Hooked on Hulas - Using Hula Hoops to Teach GCF and LCM

GCF and LCM are two of the more challenging topics we cover in math. Now that it's time for reviewing concepts for the upcoming standardized tests, I've decided to dust off one of my more popular math-tivities - Hooked on Hulas. I originally purchased a set of 6 hula hoops from the dollar store for a lesson on measuring circumference. While prepping the circumference lesson, I thought about other ways I could use the hula hoops. "Hey," I thought. "If I overlap these hula hoops, I'll have a Venn Diagram."

Using the hula hoops for a math-tivity on GCF and LCM is fairly simple. Add some note cards (I laminate note cards for repeated use), markers, dry erase boards and numbers, and you're ready to go!

Prepare pairs of numbers for students. Before beginning the activity, review factors, multiples, and prime factorization. Then, show students how to find the GCF and LCM using the hula hoop Venn Diagram.

After my first success with this activity, I borrowed more hula hoops so students could work in pairs. As an added bonus, I told students that they would be able to have a hula hoop contest at the end of class if they successfully completed their GCF and LCM assignment. Kids were happy. The lesson was a blast. They left the class telling others that "Math was fun!" It really paid off in their assessment on the topics. The activity has resulted in higher scores and retention of information.

Grab some hula hoops and have some math fun. Who knows, you and your students just may get hooked too!!!

Four-Leaf Factors: A Quick Review Math-tivity

I must admit that I spent WAY too much money at the dollar store today. With St. Patrick's Day and Spring coming, there are a multitude of inexpensive products available to help kiddos better understand math concepts. Luckily, the dollar store had a wide variety of shamrocks available in packs of 12 and 24. I think the clovers are a great way to do a quick factor review in mathematics.

Four-leaf factors in interactive math journal

The clovers are really easy to make. First, you need at least   1-3 clovers. It really depends on how many numbers you choose. You also need seven circular labels that are 3/4" in diameter. Press six circular labels on the ends of the petals and one label in the middle.

Using a marker or gel pen, write a number with a factor of 4 in the middle of each clover. Next, write the factor pairs of the number on the remaining blank labels. Time from start to finish is less than 10 minutes depending on how many numbers you choose.

Finally, attach the clovers to an interactive math journal or notebook with tape. Include a definition of factors. Cost for complete Four-Leaf Factors for a class of 24: $2-3!!!

Pi Day - Preparing for Review of Radius, Diameter, and Circumference

Somewhere in the world, the tau supporters are shaking their heads. Today, March 14th, is the official Pi Day: a celebration of all things 3.14. I am fascinated by one of the world's most famous irrational numbers. When teaching students about pi and its connection to circumference, its easy to slice and dice circles into a shape almost everyone knows: a piece of pie. That being said, students still struggle with understanding some of the nuances of pi and circumference, particularly when it comes to finding radius or diameter when given pi. As we prepare to begin review for state standardized testing, I use short review sheets students can glue into their math interactive notebooks. They use the review sheet as a guide when we complete problems or use math stations in class. I create them even though students have previously taken notes on the subject. They seem to connect with seeing the material in a different format, and it helps them focus on the review and retain aspects so crucial to test preparation. I'm curious about how other educators get students ready during testing season.

An image of the circumference review sheets



Using Online Assignments to Promote Mastery in Math Class

Several years ago, I began noticing a trend in my math classes. I would give students paper-based assignments, and they would return them when completed. On particularly difficult math concepts, such as order of operations, there were more than a few low grades, but I would grade them and return them to students. I would then follow up with the next assignment. One day, some students asked me if they could "do the homework over" for a higher grade. I allowed them to re-do the work. More students took advantage of this offer; soon, I was inundated with past homework assignments. Not only was I grading the new work from class, but I was also re-grading work. How could I make this work and still return graded work to students in a timely manner?

I researched a few websites and decided to use Quia.com as my new class platform. There, I could post homework assignments. Once I set everything up, I told students that my expectations for homework had changed. "Work for 100," I told them. Their assignments were now posted online, and they could re-do them before the due date. If there was a particular problem they were having an issue with on the assignment, the data would show me, and I could address it during class. Quia totally changed students' attitudes about their assignments. It worked so well, I began including some classwork assignments to the platform.

Allowing students to re-do their assignments continues to promote mastery of mathematical concepts. Instead of waiting for me to grade and return their assignments, students receive their grades immediately. They can review their work to determine what they're getting wrong and why. They can also communicate with me for assistance on an as-needed basis.

There are plenty of programs out there that teachers can use for online assignments. Give students the opportunity to take ownership of some of their own learning. The results can be extraordinary.

The Power of Coding

I may be showing my age, but my first experience with coding was using BASIC during my formative years. My parents indulged my extreme desire to have a computer and gave me an IBM portable computer for my birthday and Christmas (those of you with birthdays near Christmas understand my meaning). Back then, DOS ruled the day and I had to use a series of 5.25" floppy disks to run programs. Of course, I wanted to make my own programs too. I wanted to tell my computer what to do. There was no Internet to Google my way to programming excellence. There were books...with way too many pages. My foray into BASIC began. I don't recall making anything extraordinary. With some effort, I recall making my computer emit beeps if a person answered certain questions correctly. Despite my limited programming prowess, my first experiences into coding sparked something deep within me; it still persists today.

I recently participated in the Hour of Code and it really brought back some great memories. I still have that old IBM and those floppy disks. I don't know if it still works. I thought about getting a stern warning from my computer science professor in college because I decided to write a program full of references to Star Trek instead of following an assignment (I still believe it was a great program!). It also reminded me of the strong connection between coding, logic and mathematics. The skills students learn in middle school math through algebra provide a solid foundation for learning to code, but it's never too early to learn.

My middle school and high school didn't offer computer science or programming classes, and I had to learn it on my own. I wasn't alone in my self-education and it makes me wonder where we'd be if students such as myself had those opportunities. We no longer have to guess. We have so many avenues to expose children to the languages that are essential to a tech-driven world. Based on my experience with the Hour of Code, I'm committed to developing and implementing a lesson plan that gives my students the opportunity to learn a skill so crucial in today's society and future societies. Tomorrow's jobs will require knowing how to use programs as well as understanding the languages that make them work. Maybe the meaning of the word "bilingual" will expand to include understanding how to communicate in spoken/written languages and programming languages. Hopefully, my students will experience that same spark I did so many years ago.