7 “Piece of Cake” Pi Day Activities for Your Classroom
March 14th is one of the most exciting days of the year for math teachers. A day to celebrate math, eat actual pie, and maybe even tell a few corny jokes. This year, why not go all out. Make this Pi Day celebration one that your students will never forget. Grab your Pi Day t-shirt, a few supplies, and these 7 Pi Day activities and together we will make March 14th a day that will go on, and on, and on…
Using different colored dice, have students break off into groups of 3 or 4. Taking turns, they will roll the dice in hopes of getting a 3 on their first turn. They are going to go around taking turns rolling to get the first 5-6 numbers in pi. Whoever gets to the determined number first, wins. Full rules can be found by clicking on the image above.
Items needed:
- Paper
- Dice (colored for different groups)
What Pi Day party would be complete without a pi pencil and a sweet little note? Students can assemble the pencil gifts and hand them out at school, or take them home. It’s a fun way to end your pi celebration and a very cheap prize or craft. Students can cut out the printable, color their pi to match the pencil and then hole-punch the area to put the pencil through.
Items needed:
- Free template
- Pencils
- Scissors
- Crayons
- Hole punch
The Pi Day paper plate circle craft is fun to do on Pi Day or ahead of time to decorate in your classroom. Using a round paper plate your students will cut out the center and then write the numbers of pi around the circle’s edge. Not every number of pi…but a few of them. Then using cut out circles of tissue paper they will glue them together and onto the plate. Finish this off with a lovely black cutout symbol of pi.
Items needed:
- Tissue paper
- Paper plates
- Glue sticks
- Black markers
- Black construction paper
This free Pi Day printable can be used in a variety of ways. You could have a coloring contest, have students simply sit and quietly color, glue Cheerios or other round items inside the circles, or whatever other fun ideas you come up with.
Pie Contest
This is pretty self-explanatory but if you ever wanted an excuse to eat pie, March 14th is your day! Have families sign up to bring in a variety of pies for your celebration. This can include pumpkin pie, cherry pie, chocolate mousse pie, apple pie, even pizza pie! You could make it a rule that only round foods can be brought for the party. Or have a pie tasting competition. Oh, so many delicious options.
Pi Day Videos
During your Pi Day celebration, turn on a few YouTube videos while your students are having a slice of pie, pizza, or are working on a craft project. Here are a few fun and informative options:
Totally free Pi Day printable activities are not easy to find. A fellow teacher put this packet together and it costs $0. The worksheets are great for students in grades kindergarten through 8th grade. One activity included is the paper chain activity where students put one number of pi on each paper chain ring and see how far around the room they can get it. Or you can hang it around the room as a pi decoration. This activity package includes over 30 activities for the big day. Teachers Pay Teachers has many options (free and paid) if you want even more ideas.
Enjoy your Pi Day and remember to make it fun. Don’t forget to tell your awesome pi jokes and have a slice of something yummy. Math teachers don’t have too many holidays so exclusively focused on numbers, so enjoy your special day.
-Jenna Garvin
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