Pi Day, the sweetest school non-holiday of all, now also marks the anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic here in the eastern US. My annual backyard Pi Day party was my first cancellation of 2020 when “social distancing” and #flattenthecurve were brand new additions to my lexicon. And it’s now the first holiday that’s disappointingly different TWO years in a row.
Of course, much more importantly, this week is also one full year since school – and life in general – was “normal” for so many of us. Whether you’re still teaching fully virtually or have returned to the classroom with students, you’re now working with very different safety guidelines that probably rule out some fun cooperative learning activities and a pie feast!
Even though we’re still not sharing food at parties, I’m determined to find more ways to have fun on Pi Day this year. Here are a few no prep and COVID safe activities you can easily do to celebrate Pi Day. (Would you like these ideas in a free ready to use Google Slides file? I’ll email them to you!)
- Look at the first 1,000 digits of pi.
- How many digits can you memorize in 3 minutes?
- Can you find any numbers you recognize, such as your birthday (like MM/DD) or your zip code within the first 1,000 digits? If not, check mypiday.com to see where any string of digits first appears in pi.
- Graph pie data!
- Survey your students, or ask them to survey friends and family to find out what kind of pie is most popular.
- Create a pie chart to display your survey data. You can use this site to make one online.
- Enjoy some pi jokes.
- What do you get when you divide a Jack-o-Lantern by its diameter? Pumpkin Pi!
- Why shouldn’t you eat too much pi? You’ll get a big circumference!
I’ve put all of these ideas together for you in a free Google Slides file so that all you have to do is share or project your screen to have some Pi Day fun this year with your students!
Oh, and I’m definitely still pulling out some fun circle decorations and making a pie to enjoy at home! I hope you do, too – you deserve a sweet treat now that this past year has come full circle! (Sorry, I just can’t resist a good pun!)
Psst! If you’re looking for more easy Pi Day ideas, check out the post Pi Day Activities in 5th Grade.
Here’s my original free list of 10 no prep Pi Day activities.
And here are two full inquiry-based lessons that are perfect for Pi Day:
