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April meeting:
This meeting will be held at Aiken High School. Tomo Switzer and Debbie Orsini of Aiken High and... Read on »

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Bracelets for Pi Day:
As you know, on March 14, mathematics teachers around the world celebrate Pi Day! ... Read on »

The Aiken County Council of Mathematics Teachers (ACCTM) is the association of math teachers in Aiken County, South Carolina. ACCTM is affiliated with the SCCTM and NCTM. Membership is open to all math teachers in Aiken County.

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Spring 2008 Newsletter

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Pi Day Sudoku

The Brainfreeze Pi Day Sudoku puzzle is free to use and distribute. Each row, column, and jigsaw region contains the first twelve digits of pi, including repeats: 3.14159265358.


Bracelets for Pi Day

As you know, on March 14, mathematics teachers around the world celebrate Pi Day! (3/14)

Here’s an activity I located and have used for two years in my classroom.

Materials:

Instructions:

In my class, the first thing we do is calculate the value of pi using several circles and finding the circumference divided by the diameter. After deciding on what “looks” to be pi, we use one of the many websites on which many, many values of pi are listed. Depending on the number of beads you want to use and the length of your pipe cleaner, determine a set number of places to which you will make your pi bracelet.

To make the bracelet, each student decides what color he wants each of the digits to represent. For example, blue could represent 1s, green could represent 2s, yellow could represent 3s, etc. The students choose one of the larger beads to represent the 3 (of 3.14), and then they begin threading their beads with their color keys to match the rest of the digits.

In the past, we have gone to 20 or 25 digits. I require the students to wear their pi bracelets during pi day — at least. In the past, when pi day was over, some students continued to carry their bracelets on their badges. It is just a fun activity which makes the students understand a little better that pi is an irrational number and where it comes from.


Patty paper confidence intervals

I use patty paper, which is thicker than tracing paper but still translucent, to illustrate the creation of confidence intervals. My experience has been that seeing is understanding.

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