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Solving Real Life Problems with Google Sheets

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Did you know Google Sheets brings a host of powerful features to users? These features automate repetitive tasks, including enhancing styles and splitting names. Here are some of my favorite problems and solutions for Google Sheets and Forms.

First, let’s take a look at one approach to problem-solving. Problems present opportunities to fine-tune our thinking. But often, we lack a process to follow. I guarantee that it will streamline your thinking for solution development. What’s more, it may save you time when it matters most.

The Power of Heuristics

Heuristics are powerful processes or checklists that do the following:

  • Remove some of the burden on our minds to make a decision
  • Assist with problem-solving
  • Make simple a tough question with many moving parts
  • Speed the journey to an on-target conclusion

Why wouldn’t you rely on a heuristic for solving spreadsheet problems? They help us learn by our own actions. What does that mean? Let’s dig in a little more.

Learn by Your Own Action

The power of heuristics is that they empower you to solve problems. They do this by providing a checklist– a process you can follow.

We all know that solving problems can be challenging. If you have to put pen to paper, it’s nice to have a process to guide you and aid your thinking. That’s why the heuristic shared on this page can be helpful.

George Polya, a mathematician, put it together. And this approach draws its inspiration from Socrates.

“We all must add the action of your own mind in order to learn something. Socrates expressed it two thousand years ago. He said that an idea should be born in the student’s mind, and the teacher should act as a midwife.

The idea should be born in the student’s mind and the midwife shouldn’t interfere too much, too early. But if the labor of birth is too long, the midwife must then intervene. The student learns by his own actions.” (Source)

Polya’s heuristic offers a four-step process for solving a problem. Let’s review it with a solvable spreadsheet problem in mind.

sheets
Skip the Google Sheets frustration! Sign up for the TCEA Google Sheets online, self-paced course.

Skip the Google Sheets frustration! Sign up for the TCEA Google Sheets online, self-paced course.

Step 1 – Understand the Problem

Polya suggests one take the time to understand the problem. He suggests exploring the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary terms. He also says to identify what’s given in the problem, including superfluous information. Finally, he recommends restating the problem in your own words.

Example Problem

Here’s a problem I have had to solve using Google Sheets and Google Forms:

I need to set up online professional development and track how many people sign up, represent that in graph form, and set up the form so that participants get digital certificates upon submission of the a form.

With that problem in mind, you can move to Step 2 – Design a Plan for Solving the Problem.

Step 2 – Design a Plan for Solving the Problem

In this step, you decide how you will work on the problem. There are several strategies you can use. Here’s a list of those in order of my preference:

  • Draw a picture or diagram.
  • Make a list.
  • Break problems up into a series of smaller steps or problems.
  • Solve smaller versions of the problem and look for a pattern.
  • Use variables and write an equation.

Example Plan for Solving the Problem

As you can see, my preferred approach is to draw a picture that breaks the problem into a series of smaller steps. Here’s what that looks like on paper:

sheets
Photo by author

For me, the smaller steps involve a flow (what is first, what is second, etc.). I see them in this way:

  • Set up professional development tracking with a Google Form.
  • See how Form data appears in Google Sheets Responses.
  • Summarize the data in Google Sheets Responses with a Status tab in the spreadsheet.
  • Capture statistics for completion on a separate Google Sheet that aggregates results. Those results come from a wide variety of Google Sheets Responses. Those Sheets appear as their own document or as tabs in one Google Sheet (preferred).

Once I clearly understand how things will flow, I carry out the plan in Step 3 – Carry Out the Plan.

Step 3 – Carry Out the Plan

In this penultimate step, you spend a reasonable amount of time trying to solve the problem. For me, twenty minutes to an hour is reasonable. I have found trying to work on a problem longer than twenty minutes has diminishing returns.

Research suggests working in small chunks of time. Punctuate each chunk of time with rest periods in between. Doing this can help with focus.

Our attention tends to wane after a certain period. How long that time period lasts depends on the person. Some studies…place the range anywhere from 10 minutes to 52 minutes. (Source: Harvard Health Publishing, 2020)

There are a few problems I have had to spend several days working on, taking breaks between each work period. During each chunk of time, I try a new strategy or unfamiliar function to try to get the result I want. This may involve going online to watch videos and solutions others have provided. In tough problem-solving situations, I have found chatting with a colleague helpful. Trying to explain the problem, my solution aloud assists me in troubleshooting.

This way, I troubleshoot my solution when explaining what I’m doing to others. It’s rare that others will have a solution they have developed. I don’t want them to own the problem, but I want them to let me own it and clarify my thinking process.

Google Sheets and Forms make it easy to put plans in place, test the solution often, and try new variations.

Sheets
Screenshot by author

Step 4 – Look Back, Reflect and Assess

You already know the value of self-judgment and reflection. Polya suggests you check your solution with a few questions:

  • Is it reasonable?
  • Is it unique?
  • Can you see an easier way to solve the problem?
  • Can you generalize the problem?

For me, the hardest part is making the jump after understanding the problem. That jump involves translating the problem into a mathematical version of the problem.

Adapted from George Polya’s work by author

Example Reflection

Most plans fail in their execution. However, I’m happy to report that this plan worked well. Over twenty thousand people have gone through the process and received certificates. They get those certificates emailed as a PDF. One problem that arises is that sometimes Autocrat freezes. This means that the end users don’t get their certificates right away. That is something that I have to try and improve.

Sample Problems and Solutions

Need to see some example problems and solutions? Here are a few actual ones I’ve documented while working with Google Sheets and Forms.

  • Create a parent communications log (See more)
  • Set up a travel budget (See more)
  • Collect campus-specific data and organize it in a summary-type Sheet that then feeds into a data dashboard showing all campus data (See more)
  • Send out custom bulk emails using a list of names and email (See more)
  • Translate comments submitted via a form (See more)
  • Capture tweets from Twitter and run analytics on stats (See more)
  • Pull related data from several sheets into one report (See more)
  • Generate PDF certificates to send via email to participants (See more)
  • Create a capacity matrix to track completion score (See more)

What’s Next?

Now that you have a process for solving real-life problems with Google Sheets and Forms, what’s next? For me, it’s being aware of the different tools for Google Sheets– functions that you can use in formulas that you design in Google Sheets. Stay tuned for my next blog entry with my list of favorite functions.

Feature Image Source

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Content AreasCurricular StandardsMathTEKS

The K-5 Math TEKS and Free, Editable Spreadsheets

by Emily Horn
written by Emily Horn

I’m back with more on your favorite topic: the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). This time, we’ll look at information on the K-5 Math TEKS, and you can download some freebies! You may have seen my post about The K-5 ELAR TEKS and Free, Editable Spreadsheets. You can find information in that article about how the TEKS are reviewed, revised, and streamlined. Today, we have the long-awaited and highly anticipated editable spreadsheets with the Mathematics TEKS and coordinating “I Can” statements for grades K-5!

What Are the TEKS?

In short, the TEKS are the curricular standards adopted by the Texas State Board of Education. These standards outline what students should know and be able to do in each content area for each grade level. State-mandated tests are aligned with these standards to measure student achievement and skills acquisition.

About the Mathematics TEKS

In 2012, the SBOE adopted revised K-12 Mathematics TEKS, which were implemented in the 2014-2015 school year. Here are the top seven things to know (from the Mathematics TEKS introduction):

1. It is clearly written that the purpose behind the Math TEKS is college and career readiness and preparation for 21st-century challenges.

2. Each grade level purposefully begins with mathematical process standards. since these connect knowledge and skills, allowing students to demonstrate their understanding through problem solving and application of skills to everyday life. These are the same for each grade level.

3. The introduction goes further to describe the problem-solving model in the mathematical process standards for how students can apply their mathematics skills by:

  • Analyzing given information
  • Formulating a plan or strategy
  • Determining a solution
  • Justifying the solution
  • Evaluating the problem-solving process and the reasonableness of the solution

4. In the introductory explanation of the mathematical process standards are examples of tools, techniques, and methods of communication students may choose from for problem solving and communicating (explaining, displaying, or justifying) their ideas.

  • Tools: real objects, manipulatives, algorithms, paper and pencil, and technology
  • Techniques: mental math, estimation, number sense, generalization, and abstraction
  • Communication: symbols, diagrams, graphs, computer programs, and language (written or oral)

5. There is an acknowledgment of the development of number sense as being necessary for developing fluency. That said, in order for students to develop procedural fluency, it is explicitly stated that students in grades K-5 should complete their work without calculators.

6. In addition to the mathematical process standards, each grade level has different “primary focal areas” within the strands of:

  • Number and operations
  • Algebraic reasoning
  • Geometry and measurement
  • Data analysis
  • Personal financial literacy

7. Within the standards, “such as” is used to illustrate examples, whereas “including” alludes to content that must be mastered.

Helpful TEKS Documents

Freebies from TCEA

Ok. That’s done! Now let’s get to the freebies. Click the links to make a copy of the editable TEKS spreadsheets for your grade level(s). Each spreadsheet has a tab with the TEKS and a tab with correlating “I can” statements. Is there something else TEKS-related that would be helpful? If so, let me know in the comments or send me an email (ehopkins@tcea.org). I’d love to hear from you!

Click to Make a Copy of the Grade K TEKS and
“I Can” Statement Spreadsheet
Click to Make a Copy of the Grade 1 TEKS and
“I Can” Statement Spreadsheet
Click to Make a Copy of the Grade 2 TEKS and
“I Can” Statement Spreadsheet
Click to Make a Copy of the Grade 4 TEKS and
“I Can” Statement Spreadsheet
Click to Make a Copy of the Grade 3 TEKS and
“I Can” Statement Spreadsheet
Click to Make a Copy of the Grade 5 TEKS and
“I Can” Statement Spreadsheet

Additional STAAR and TEKS Articles You May Find Useful

Reading Language Arts STAAR Test Resources

STAAR Prep: A K-5 Argumentative/Opinion Writing Strategy

STAAR Prep: Spelling Strategies, Resources, and Downloadable Posters

The K-5 ELAR TEKS and Free, Editable Spreadsheets

A Practical Strategy for Teaching Editing Skills

A Powerful and Easy Strategy for Teaching Text Evidence

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Classroom ManagementContent AreasEnglish Language Arts Reading (ELAR)Math

Ideas for Flexible Centers

by Emily Horn
written by Emily Horn

We’ve all had those students who are always early finishers. Like, always. Every time. Am I right? And we all know what can happen if they don’t have engaging work to start after they finish their assigned tasks– boredom! Boredom can creep in and manifest itself in a plethora of ways in the classroom. Do we want this? No, thank you! So how do we keep students engaged, thinking, creating, and learning, if they finish early? Today, I will share some resources and ideas for using centers flexibly for extension and enrichment. 

What Is the Purpose of Flexible Centers?

The purpose of flexible centers isn’t to introduce new content or to change your designated center times on your class schedule; instead, the goal is to give students flexibility and choice once tasks are completed to practice, extend, and reinforce or to enrich, challenge, and explore. With flexible center activities, students can:

These activities can become a natural part of your classroom routine with a bit of practice with your students, and they can complete flexible centers individually or with a partner/small group (when appropriate). Once you’ve put your system in place, you can reuse it with very little prep year after year. 

Types of Centers to Try 

A Puzzle Center

I incorporated a center with activities and instructions in numbered hanging file folders. I placed my hanging folders box on a table, labeled it as “Teacher, I’m done!”, and it was its own center. When students finished their assigned classwork, group work, or partner work, they could go to the table and choose an activity. Then, they would complete the activity at their desk or in a designated flexible work area within the classroom. Students had their own special folder for these activities as well as a coordinating numbered checklist. This helped them easily keep track of which activities they were working on or had completed. This center mainly contained enrichment activities like logic grid puzzles, brainteasers, sudoku, etc.

Content-Specific Centers

I also used my regular classroom centers, which I’d set up by content area (math, writing, reading, etc.), in a flexible way for early finishers. Yes, even in upper elementary! These centers were arranged strategically around the room to avoid crowding and gave students a choice of where they wanted to work. Students loved the movement and flexible work areas. I would put “Teacher, I’m done!” activities for students to choose from in these centers (separate from regular center activities). At times, I would give students checklists or choice boards if I wanted them to practice, reinforce, or be challenged in certain areas while continuing to offer them choice.

Digital Centers

You can take this idea and digitize it with any number of great digital tools by creating a “hub” or “portal” for your students to access with a variety of enrichment and extension options. A few tools that initially come to mind are Google Sites, Padlet, Wakelet, SeeSaw, and Google Classroom. If you know of other tools, add them in the comments section! You can also use QR codes to transport students to various online spaces, websites, videos, or activities. 

Mix and Match Digital and In-Person Centers

Mix digital and paper methods in a number of ways! Some activities can be online, while others are written or completed using manipulatives. Students love the variety of switching between the digital and the tactile, and as digital natives, they can do this seamlessly. For example, although my centers were based in the classroom, some activities were completed online or created using digital tools. The instructions for these online activities were in the classroom center or on a QR code in the classroom. This is definitely my preferred method!

Resources for Center Activities 

I am including a Wakelet collection with examples of activities I had in my centers that worked well. Most of these resources provide activities for multiple grade levels or can be adapted. 

Here are a few examples (included in the Wakelet) that students particularly enjoyed: 

  • Reading fluency practice using handheld timers and reading practice passages. They liked timing each other for three tries at a passage. They would record their WPM on a record sheet like this one. We based our method loosely off of 6 Minute Solution.
  • Reader’s theater! This was a HUGE hit. They loved reading scripts in groups of 2-3 students. This improved their intonation and expression when reading and motivated students who usually didn’t read. See this section in my Wakelet collection.
  • Partner reading “knee to knee” or “elbow to elbow.” My students loved grabbing a book and reading with a partner. Sometimes, they would record their reading with Flipgrid.
  • Independent author studies or research projects.
  • Written responses to journal prompts or creative writing. Sometimes, they would write a paragraph describing a painting, photograph, or piece of artwork, which was a very popular activity.
  • STEAM activities that included building or creating.
  • Creating new words and definitions in a “class dictionary” based on learned root words, prefixes, and suffixes. 
  • Partnered math card games or partnered math practice. 
  • Writing “how-to” instructions for science experiments or tasks we had completed in class; or getting a problem card and writing up a solution. 

I hope you’ve found these ideas and resources helpful. The key is to really set expectations and practice with students so that this becomes routine. Once you’ve set it up and practiced it, I hope it adds to your positive classroom environment and makes it even more comfortable, engaging, and active. If you’ve done this a different way, please leave a comment with your method. The best way to learn is from each other, so feel free to actively share with us.  

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Content AreasEducational ResearchMath

Jigsaw Your Math Classroom

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

“How does the jigsaw method work in my mathematics class?” asked Jessica. I was standing at the left side of the room. I had asked session participants for questions. The participants had been reading about various evidence-based strategies. That question made my mind go blank. “What did I know about using jigsaw method in a mathematics classroom?” While I could extrapolate its application, I didn’t have specific examples for math like I did for science or history.

How Should I Have Responded?

When you get a tough question you’re not prepared for, it’s an opportunity to invite further discussion and learn more. While I had a response that appeared to satisfy the questioner, I felt like I had responded with less than 100% certainty. For me, the response should have had these three components:

  1. A quick overview of the jigsaw method, perhaps with a hands-on activity
  2. A specific example of how a teacher could implement the jigsaw method in their classroom, no matter the grade level.
  3. Stories from those who had put the jigsaw method into action in a math classroom

In this situation, I didn’t have the second two. So, I wrote this blog entry to deepen my learning. Let’s explore these three specific response components.

Component #1 – An Overview of The Jigsaw Method

On the website, Jigsaw Your Mathematics Classroom, the author shares several goals:

  • Learn the jigsaw method and how to implement it in a mathematics classroom.
  • Design a jigsaw lesson that can be used in your mathematics classroom.
  • Develop an assessment that appropriately evaluates student understanding after the completion of a jigsaw lesson.

“The jigsaw technique is a simple, well-structured cooperative learning structure that emphasizes both individual accountability and achievement of group goals, both of which are critical for improved student learning in cooperative settings.” (Source: On the Cutting Edge course design workshops)

You could walk people through a jigsaw activity, or have them watch “The Gummy Bear” video.

The Gummy Bear Jigsaw

Take a moment to watch this gummy bear video featuring The Jigsaw Classroom:

Then, reflect on these questions:

  • What is the significance of the color of the gummy bears?
  • What are the gummy bears expected to do?
  • What is the difference between the groups before and after they switch around? Why is this important? What did they do after they switched groups?
  • What does the teacher do while the gummy bears are working? What suggestions could you make about the teacher’s role during this activity?

What a fun way to introduce students and/or educators to the jigsaw method. Let’s study it a bit more.

How the Jigsaw Method Works

There are multiple types of jigsaw methods. The main problems with incomplete jigsaws techniques appear below:

  • Less effective readers share misinformation with the group. Everyone gets the misinformation, interfering with understanding.
  • A failure to see how their assigned part fits within the whole
  • Critical thinking that results from analysis and synthesis doesn’t happen (Source: ASCD’s Let’s Get Jigsaw Right).

The successful jigsaw method takes these steps:

  1. Home group splits up into expert groups to explore a specific aspect of a topic.
  2. Regroup into home groups to discuss findings from each expert group.
  3. Split into expert groups to consider the whole in light of home group insights.

In step one, students focus on exploring the information offered. In step two, students engage in summarizing, questioning, and clarifying content with others. In step three, students bring their insights from the home group back to their expert groups. A critical part of the third step is meta-cognition, synthesis, and analysis. This results from conversations with others in the group.

You can see how this works in this 2011 video featuring Elliot Aronson, credited with the jigsaw method. You can find a bank of activities that rely on the jigsaw method online. Let’s take a look at the structure of one activity,

Why the Jigsaw Method Works

Wondering why the jigsaw method works? Here’s a bit of background on this powerful instructional strategy:

The jigsaw technique is a method of organizing classroom activity that makes students dependent on each other to succeed. It breaks classes into groups and chunks assignments into pieces that the group assembles to complete the (jigsaw) puzzle. The Jigsaw Method enjoys an effect size of 1.20. This makes it one of the most effective instructional strategies you can use.

This effective strategy can accelerate student growth up to three years in one academic year. In fact, the jigsaw method involves students reading new information. They discuss it with others who have read the same information. This allows them to extend their learning. Then, students move to new groups where they teach their peers about what they read. They also learn new information from group members (Source: John Hattie, Keynote address, TCEA 2022 Convention and Exposition).

Other Benefits of the Jigsaw Method

Wondering if there are other benefits to the jigsaw method? There are. Here are a few:

  • Direct engagement by the students with the material. Instead of having material presented to them, they are able to interact with the material directly, which fosters depth of understanding.
  • Practice in self-teaching. This is one of the most valuable skills we can help them learn.
  • Practice in peer teaching. This skill requires students to understand the material at a deeper level than simply asking to produce on an exam.
  • Improvement in social-emotional learning. This includes increased feelings of autonomy, competence, and intrinsic motivation (Hänze & Berger, 2007).
  • Speaking the language of the discipline. The jigsaw method helps students become more fluent in the use of discipline-based terminology
  • Team-building. Students contribute to the group and take ownership of the work.
  • Encouraging cooperation, active learning, and promoting the valuing of all students’ contributions (source)

Now that you know a little about the jigsaw method, let’s dig into specific examples for mathematics.

Component #2 – Specific Examples for Math

Many of the examples you will find online for the jigsaw method focus on science, history, and/or nonfiction texts. But what about mathematics? Is the jigsaw method only for literacy? Let’s take a look.

Below, you will find two examples. You may find that certain grade levels and types of activities may lend themselves to the use of the jigsaw method. The key is in how you set up the expert group organizers.

Example One: Transformations and Symmetry

jigsaw math
Source: Lindsey Cain, Literacy Strategies for the Math Classroom


As you can see in the example above, Lindsey’s effort employs jigsaw to support a mathematics lesson. The jigsaw method organizer that students rely on differs from the one you might use in a science or history classroom. The questions, as you will see below, are more focused. Sentence stems include:

  • What is…
  • In your own words…
  • Look…translate…
  • Draw your own example

Each organizer specific to an expert group is customized to a specific action that students must take. Each expert group engages in a transformation and symmetry activity.

Example Two: Algebra II

While a lot of time is spent on “organizing a jigsaw,” it’s a lot less time than you might think. Katie Elder, an instructional coach, describes how a colleague led an Algebra II class (edited for brevity):

Preparation

-On the day of the lesson, the teacher shared the learning objective and reviewed the academic vocabulary with students.

-Each student received their own organizer with one problem on it, the problem that their expert
group would solve.

-The students worked in an independent way, without interaction with peers, on their problems.

Expert Group

-They students met together in their pre-assigned expert groups.

-Working together, they discussed the problem, shared their responses, and looked for errors in their work.

-After five minutes, each student felt sure that they could explain the procedure for solving the problem to their home groups.

Home Group

Students returned to their home groups to share how they solved the problem.

After students listen to problem-solving approaches in their home group, they jot down any insights.

Expert Group

Students return to their expert group to share insights other students in their home group may have shared.

After all students have shared insights gleaned from the home group, students leave the expert group and return to home group one last time or engage in a shared activity (e.g. Flipgrid).

The Teacher’s Role

The teacher walked from group to group, paying special attention to the groups who had received the lowest-level problem, but answering questions and guiding all students toward correct solutions.

When students moved again, this time into home groups, each student took a turn using a small whiteboard to write out their problem, wait while the other students copied it onto their organizer, and then “worked the problem” on the board, discussing each step. To lower anxiety and increase confidence, the students considered low in their groups went first (students were grouped into X, Y, and Z expert groups, so these were X students). Then Y students taught their problem, and then Z students. Again, the teacher visited each table, listening to explanations, offering suggestions, and answering questions.

“The lesson went well. Students responded positively, and there was 100% engagement in each of the classes. Although we have not had time to check in with the teachers to look at test score data, the math teachers whose classes we worked with both commented on how glad they were to see some of their low students speak with added confidence and some of their quiet students speak at all! One teacher even commented on how a student who perpetually “checks out” was working well beyond his normal contribution.” (Source: Katie Elder guest post)

Component #3 – Jigsaw in the Math Classroom

Student inactivity in a math classroom can cause low interest in mathematics. One strategy that increases students’ activity is the jigsaw method (Source: Adopting Jigsaw Instructional Strategy for Improving Students’ Interest in Mathematics). One question the researcher in the aforementioned study asked:

“Do students differ in interest towards mathematics when taught using jigsaw, Individual Personalization and Conventional Strategies?”

Compared to other approaches, jigsaw enjoyed the highest interest of the three approaches explored. Findings suggested these conclusions:

  • Mathematics teachers should embrace the use of the jigsaw method, along with traditional methods of teaching math.
  • Teachers should not discriminate among students with high, average, or low socioeconomic status.

Another study focused on high school students revealed these findings:

  • Teachers should design activities through the jigsaw technique to promote mathematics understanding.
  • Students should practice, solve, manipulate, reason, and perform via the jigsaw technique.
  • The jigsaw technique helps students make connections across mathematical skills and concepts, and other disciplines.
  • After using the jigsaw technique, students should have time to discuss how they perform in solving mathematical activities.

Addendum: My Approach to the Jigsaw Method

Here are the steps I use when relying on the jigsaw method. I put them together after reviewing how others organize their jigsaw activities. You may want to review my steps, as well as how others approach them, then write your own.

Reminder: Don’t cut out those final steps that includes experts returning to and from home groups to analzye and share findings from discussions. The more discussion about insights and additions, the more learning that happens.

In Your Home Group (5-10 minutes)

  1. Students are divided into groups of three to six people each. This is your home group.
  2. Number off from one to x so that each person in the group has a number.
  3. Each member of the home group will be responsible for learning and teaching one “chunk” of content to your peers. Each content chunk corresponds to your assigned number.
  4. Take a look at your content chunk. Spend about 8 minutes reviewing it (teacher adjusts timing as needed). Jot down the big takeaways or key points in this jigsaw notes organizer.
  5. When time is up, go join your expert group, the people who have the same number as you, to begin the activity.

Expert Group (5-10 minutes)

  • Introduce yourself (1-2 minutes).
  • Share your takeaways with each other, with each learner, adding something not previously mentioned.
  • Discuss your insights and why you think those takeaways are important.
  • Return to your home group when time is up.

Home Group for Reporting (10 minutes)

  • You now have just two minutes each to teach the others in your group what you learned in your expert group.
  • Use the resources/notes you created as you share.

Expert Group for Reflection

  • Take one minute each to share your Home Group’s insights
  • What do those insights mean in light of what you know as Experts? Discuss.

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Photo by Hans-Peter Gauster on Unsplash

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Common Core State StandardsContent AreasCurricular StandardsMathOnline Tools and AppsTEKS

Boddle Learning: A Free Gamified K-6 Math Tool for Summer

by Gabrielle Carpenter
written by Gabrielle Carpenter

Are you looking for a fun yet beneficial educational tool for students to use over the summer? Boddle Learning is an online math platform specializing in adaptive math practice through engaging gameplay.

One way Boddle helps is through its adaptive learning program that identifies student learning gaps and begins bridging those gaps. However, aside from being a great educational tool, it’s also fun and engaging. As students work through problems, they get to play mini-games, earn coins, and collect rewards, all while building their math skills. 

Boddle character with laptop

Why Use Boddle over the Summer

Summer learning loss is a normal occurrence, and it can make the transition back to school more difficult for both students and teachers. However, Boddle can help reduce summer learning loss and improve student re-engagement.

Teachers and parents/guardians can either assign content for their students to practice or allow Boddle’s AI system to take the reins. Students will continue learning during the summer months, keeping their growing minds fed. Teachers and parents have access to a live-data feed on their dashboard, which clearly details student learning gaps, allowing them to help guide the student through the gaps towards success.

Boddle Teacher Ambassador, Carley English, uses Boddle regularly in her classroom and encourages her students to continue the fun at home. “Boddle has been such an incredible tool used to enhance instruction in the classroom, and I know kids would love to have something engaging to play at home over the summer. I had a student say, ‘Ms. English, I know you are going to say no, but can I play Boddle at home over the weekend?’ I laughed and said, ‘Absolutely! I would love for you to!’”

Check out this video that gives a quick look at Boddle!

It’s Fun for Students, Too!

Boddle values providing fun and engaging learning for all students. The gamified education approach has been shown to improve learning and retention, and Boddle has taken that to heart—learning can and should be fun. But, just because the learning is fun doesn’t mean it’s not rigorous. 

Ms. English enjoys the combination of engaging gameplay and math practice: “For students who are used to just playing mindless video games at home, this is a great way to spice up their level of engagement. The games they play are exciting, fun to watch, and gives you a sense of peace knowing they are learning while they play.”

Both the math content and the game side provide students with fun challenges that enrich their minds and test their skills. What’s better, they don’t have to do it alone. Through the “Buddy List,” students can keep in touch with their classmates and practice skills together.

Boddle character with iPad

How and Where to Use Boddle

Boddle is completely free for all users. All you need to do is go to the Boddle site and create an account. Boddle is aligned with Common Core standards and many other state standards, including but not limited to: Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Missouri, California, Massachusetts, Arizona, and many more.

Boddle is a great tool for families to use at home over the summer as well. “Parents can send and see student assignments, which creates a new way to help students with math at home,” Ms. English says. “There are plenty of instructional videos on the Boddle website […] plus technical support standing by to answer questions. As a teacher, I am excited to send home my login cards again in hopes of students continuing to work on their activities over the summer!”

If you’re looking for a fun, easy-to-use math program to use over the summer and in school, check out Boddle Learning! Its adaptive learning program can help fight summer learning loss and provide students with a fun, enriching summer activity, making the transition back to school easier and re-engagement quicker.

Boddle is here to help make math fun for students. We can’t wait to have you be part of our growing community!

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Six activities from the Math Playground site.
MathOnline Tools and Apps

11 Free Math Sites and Games

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

Looking for math games for a center, additional practice, or an answer to the question “TEACHER, I’m done. What do I do now?” Below you will find a list of several math game sites that do not require downloading or an account. These websites work well in a regular old browser. The best of all? They are all FREE! Hopefully, you will find one or two that will meet your needs. Here we go: 3, 2, 1 ADD some fun. (MINUS the login and password headaches.)

1. Numble

columns and rows in green, black, and yellow in Numble.
Screenshot by author.

Think Wordle, but for Math. This daily challenge gives you six tries to guess the hidden equation. The only hint you receive is for the value. Just like Wordle, a green number means it’s in the correct spot. Yellow means you have the correct number/sign but not in the correct position. Black means the number/sign is not present. The equation follows the DMAS order of operations. 

2. Ooodle

Mathszone is a website from the U.K. that has a variety of math games for students. Oodle is like Numble. This variety consists of using numbers 1-9 only one time each. Green, yellow, and gray give you hints to find the solution. 

3. Fun Brain

This website has tons of games. The Math Zone alone has over 75 choices. The best thing about these games, they are all labeled with the appropriate grade levels (K–1, 1–6, 2–8, all grades, etc.). Look for the tiny print in the lower left corner of the game graphic to locate the grade levels. 

4. PBS Peg + Cat

The 4 animals on the Peg Cat cartoon.
Scrub-A-Dub

The Fred Rogers Company produced an animated preschool series featuring Peg and Cat which ran from 2013 to 2018. Even though the tv series has been discontinued, the website houses games, stories, and videos that are just so darn cute. Games are centered around arithmetic and problem-solving skills. If you don’t know which one to check out, I highly recommend Scrub-a-Dub. Your job is to match up the sizes of buckets, soap, and water for the cute little farm animals so they will be camera-ready. 

5. SolveMe Mystery Grid

The nine grid with numbers.
Screenshot by author.

Think Sudoku, but online! This site includes three levels of built-in puzzles:

  • Puzzler level – 3×3 or 5×5 puzzles with whole numbers only.
  • Explorer level – 4×4 to 6×6 puzzles with integers.
  • Master level- Up to 7×7 puzzles with fractions and algebraic equations.

You can also build your own MysteryGrid puzzles. Students do not need an account to play. But if an account is created, their progress is kept and players can also be logged in from another device. Players over 13 can enter an email address, but those under 13 can still create an account as this app follows COPPA.

6. Math Is Fun

On this website, you can find puzzles, games, worksheets, and an illustrated dictionary. The games are geared for K-12. Math Is Fun has several categories: Games, Numbers, Algebra, Money, etc. The site states “we may use cookies,” and there is a button to hide ads. 

7. Math Playground

Six activities from the Math Playground site.
Screenshot by author.

Colleen King created this slick, colorful site in 2002 for students to practice math facts. And wow, has it grown to offer hundreds of free, online math games which include problem-solving, logic games, and number puzzles. The site is kidSAFE COPPA certified and does contain ads. Scroll down on the About page to find the categorization of all the games. 

8. Would You Rather Math

This site is so awesome! The activity engages your students in math-based conversations. They do the math and then justify their reasons.  The questions are divided into four grade levels: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12.

9. Solvemoji

Here you’ve got a free website that makes math puzzles using emojis. There are ten levels of difficulty in classic, grid, or word types. You can create an account to join the leaderboard or just solve puzzles on the website. Solvemoji puzzles are great for Math warmups and bell ringers. You can also follow @solvemoji on Twitter. Note that there are ads throughout the website. 

10. Guess My Number

guess my number showing message when guessing a number.
Screenshot by author

Math is Fun provides a website called Guess My Number. Choose a number between a range of two other numbers: 1–50, 100–200, etc. As you enter your number guess, the computer will let you know if you are too high or too low. Once you have guessed the correct number, the website will let you know how many guesses it took to correctly guess your number. 

11. Number Gossip

Tanya Khovanova has designed a website where students can type in a number and up pops all kinds of facts on that particular number.  Just for fun, I typed in the 13. And here are two interesting facts on lucky number 13:

  • 13 is the smallest emirp (yes, I had to look up the meaning of the word emirp.),
  • Irrational fear of the number 13 is termed triskaidekaphobia.

Looking for more math materials? Check out this TCEA blog for digital math tools and here for virtual manipulatives.  If I missed a great math game site, please share in the comments below so we can add it to our list. 

Featured image screenshot by author.

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Good TeachingMathOnline Tools and Apps

Building Number Sense with Fractions

by Toni Hardy
written by Toni Hardy

“Cross multiply… just do it! Don’t ask why! It works every time!” This was an unspoken rule when I learned fractions years ago. Many of us had the same experience. Our fraction sense was a series of memorized steps. Where did it get us? It made us human calculators who lack the ability to reason about the size of fractions. 

With “new math,” students have skills that build strong conceptual knowledge using strategies that build number sense such as decomposition. Decompose means to break down into parts. Students usually perform well at this skill. They are able to decompose whole numbers such as 10 is 2 + 8 or 10 is 2 + 3 + 5. This level of thinking can be used when reasoning about fractions. Let’s use what the kids know to help them make connections to concepts they do not know. 

This starts with the way we explain the meaning of a fraction. The numerator is more than the top number that tells us how many are shaded or not shaded. The denominator is more than the bottom number that tells us the number of objects in all. Many times our students interpret these definitions to mean that there are two whole numbers, one on the top and one on the bottom. They see the fraction as two separate whole numbers rather than a number that has a value. 

Let’s modify the way we define the parts of a fraction to students. According to John Van de Walle in “Elementary and Middle School Mathematics, Teaching Developmentally,”:

“the numerator counts and the denominator tells what is counted”.

These definitions are aligned to the level of thinking students should be encouraged to use as they build number sense as it relates to fractions. 

  • Let’s look at an example, 3/8. In this fraction, the denominator is 8. So, we know we are counting eighths. The numerator is 3, which tells us we are counting 3 one-eighths. 

When students use this information to decompose fractions into their parts, they are able to reason about the size of a fraction. They should be able tell you several truths about the fraction 3/8. Here are a few examples that have been modeled using the online tool Mathigon.org. It is an awesome website that can be useful to help students explore and make sense of fractions.

  • The whole is 8 eighths or 8/8. 
  • 3/8 can be renamed to 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8. These are three iterations of copies of 1/8.
  • 1/2 of 8/8 is 4/8.
  • 4/8 = 1/2 So, 3/8 < 1/2 or 1/2 > 3/8.

Conclusion

Decomposing is a powerful tool in developing number sense. When students know the meaning of a fraction, they are able to determine the whole, the unit fraction, and reason about sizes. We must take advantage of this and ensure we allow students to explore and justify their reasoning while using the correct language. Sometimes this takes a shift in our thinking, but we have to ensure we are meeting the kids where they are instructionally and not expecting the kids to meet us where we are. The kids can do it when we help them make the connections.

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Content AreasEducational TrendsEnglish Language Arts Reading (ELAR)ESL/ELLGood TeachingMathScienceSocial StudiesSpecial Needs

Templates and Ideas for Making Differentiated Choice Boards

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

There’s a country song by Barbara Mandrell that says, “I was country when country wasn’t cool.” In the same sense, you may have been using choice boards way before they became trendy. It seems that “choice board” has now joined the list of educational buzzwords. You may know them by another name such as playlists, menu boards, pathways, tic-tac-toe, or learning menus.

Why Use Choice Boards

Regardless of what you call them, choice boards offer many benefits based on sound pedagogy. In fact, Dr. Robert J. Marzano, author of “The Highly Engaged Classroom,” provides some research-based tips on student engagement, several of which directly relate to the positive impact of choice. Allowing students to choose how they want to demonstrate their learning can increase student buy-in and recall because students are more interested in their learning. Choice boards also provide the teacher with an organized way to differentiate, even beyond what you may realize is possible. Yes, the teacher may be thinking of specific students when they identify types of activities for a choice board. But teachers also may find that some students shine more than expected and choose activities differently than anticipated, showing interests and gifts the teacher wasn’t aware of previously.

How to Differentiate with Choice Boards

To increase retention, many teachers using choice boards will have students select multiple activities to complete instead of just choosing a single activity. A few ways to ramp up the learning process when students select multiple activities is to differentiate with choice boards in one of the following ways.

Color code by degree of difficulty.

In this scenario, the teacher has identified a variety of activities that give students the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of their learning. Along with this, they have identified which activities may be easier or harder than others. For example, out of ten activities, there may be three designated as easy, four designated medium difficulty, and three designated as hard. Students are then directed to choose one from each group to complete. Having students choose activities from each degree of difficulty ensures that they are engaged at various levels.

Assign points to activities.

In this scenario, each activity is assigned a points value, and students are tasked with choosing and completing enough activities to earn a certain number of points. The points can be based on difficulty level or how much time the activity may take. Students can complete activities that exceed the goal point total but should not subceed it. Some students will tackle the assignment by trying to accomplish the exact goal point total, while others will choose activities that they enjoy most, even if it means that they exceed the total points required.

Differentiate by learning goals with interventions.

In this scenario, you have some students who may have IEPs that afford them accommodations that the majority of students don’t have. Great! Identify some activities that take that into account by creating a separate choice board for them. It doesn’t have to be as extensive, but it can be more attuned to their needs while maintaining high expectations. Incorporating intervention strategies within the choices can help some students feel more confident tackling learning objectives.

Differentiate by learning goals with upperventions.

Likewise, you may have students who have been identified as gifted learners. For these students, consider offering upperventions– strategies that are incorporated and designed to meet the specific needs of talented and gifted students. Edutopia shares a variety of upperventions that you can consider when trying to meet the needs of gifted students.

Templates for Choice Boards

If you are looking for a Google Slide or PowerPoint template to create your choice board, consider checking out Slides Mania’s website. Here are a few specific templates to help you make your choice boards look great. These are ready-to-use, and you will just need to tweak the slide deck some in addition to adding activities. When you are done, you will have a digital choice board that your students can access online. They may need to Save a Copy to their Drive and edit their own copy if their work is in a digital format.

Fast Food Menu Theme
Fun Choice Board Theme
Minimalistic Choice Board Theme
Cinema Choice Board Theme
Funfair Choice Board Theme

Choice Board Resources

Anyone can use a search engine to look for choice boards. The dilemma is that you may have to wade through pages of results to find ones that are meaningful. To help you cut to the chase, here are some resources that you can explore (or tweak) to find choice boards that you can use in your classroom.

Choice Boards for Elementary Learners – Lori Gracey shares specific choice boards for elementary learners and more resources and blog posts to help you move forward in creating and using choice boards.

Interactive Summer Resources for Students with Diverse Learning Needs – Dufferin-Peel Catholic School’s Special Education and Learning Services has put together this extensive 46-page PDF of choice boards to support students with special needs.

Algebra 1 Tic-Tac-Toe Boards – Algebra teachers in Judson ISD used these four choice boards during the spring of 2020 to engage their math students online.

Earth Day Choice Board – If you engage your students on Earth Day, you will be ready for this year with this simple choice board. Since it is a Google Slide, you can click on File, Make a Copy, and then add the copy to your Google Drive to edit as needed. Earth Day this year is on Friday, April 22.

Rethink Choice Boards- Free Templates for All Grades – Beth Davidson of Elkhart Community Schools in Elkhart, Indiana, has curated a variety of choice board templates and samples, including progressive choice boards, homework choice boards, tic-tac-toe choice boards, staggered choice boards, and early finisher choice boards.

Progressive Choice Boards: Provide Choice Without Overwhelming – Matt Miller provides clear information (along with samples) on making your choice boards more appealing to students who may struggle with the freedom that typically comes with using choice boards.

How to See Quick Examples

If you are just trying to find examples quickly and aren’t so worried about having the examples in an editable format, you can Google search for choice boards and click on the images results tab. This will give you a much quicker and cleaner view of what may be available. Many times, just seeing examples will be enough for you to recreate them with your own spin on the activities. Or it may give you new ideas on how to make a particular choice board look more appealing. If you are trying to remove search results from sites behind a paywall, just include “-site:” and the name of the site you want to exclude from your results. You’ll notice in the search query provided here that examples from teacherspayteachers.com have been excluded.

choice boards template search

Share Your Favorite Choice Board Resources

What are your go-to choice board resources? Leave us a comment to share it with others. Or do you have a template that you’ve made that works well with your content and grade level? Share a link to it in the comments below so that others can recognize you for your work!

Interested in becoming a choice board pro? TCEA is offering a self-paced online course worth 12 CPEs for just $29! Interested? Register before April 1 to secure the $29 registration rate.

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Content AreasContent CreationEnglish Language Arts Reading (ELAR)Good TeachingMathScienceSocial StudiesSTEM/STEAM

Virtual Reality with Panoform Is Easy, Engaging, and Fun for Everyone

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

What is Panoform?

Panoform combines real-life drawings with immersive VR (virtual reality) experiences. It’s a revolutionary tool that is still making great experiences for students, and it is a game-changer in classrooms. Panoform allows students to download and print a grid from the website, sketch on the grid, and upload a picture of their grid drawing to the website. Then, they can have a VR experience of their sketches in a virtual reality headset, on their phone/tablet, and even on the computer. For example, it’s a simple and easy way to diagram an organism and use VR tools in the classroom. Did I mention that it’s free? And– no ads!

How Does Panoform Work?

The Panoform system requires a pen and paper, colored markers, and a grid. Panoform is a tool that students can use in their classrooms in their learning process. Using crayons, pencils, and markers, students can create a world and upload it to a website. Students can also cut out pictures and lay them on their paper grid. Once done writing or illustrating with the grid, students take a picture of it. Before uploading to the website, students need to make sure that they crop out anything outside the grid image. Once uploaded, Panoform will wrap the grid into a VR cube– one in which the viewer is placed inside the cube and can look around at the four walls, ceiling, and floor. Items drawn or written on the grid will appear accordingly in the virtual room.

https://panoform.com/#how-it-works

With this tool, students can easily create VR worlds without any programming knowledge, and they can use the VR environment to express their creative talents. They can use their imagination to design! Teachers can also use the VR world to enhance learning experiences. Additionally, the virtual environment is accessible to anyone with an Internet-connected device. All you need is content to put on each of the four virtual “walls.”

Types of Grids

Is it Safe for Sharing Student Work?

No student work is stored (or uploaded) to the Panoform cloud. The tool pulls the image from the device but does not store it in their servers, making it super safe for students. Because the work is not uploaded and stored on Panoform’s servers, the viewer will need to have a copy of the image to pull into Panoform. When you want to share content with students or have them share their work with you or others, you’ll need to curate the images in a shared drive or post/link them on your class website. Students can then download them to their devices and upload them into their viewer. They can also store images on their devices to upload directly.

Screenshot by author

Using Google Slides with a Panoform Grid

You can print out a grid to draw or write on it. But you can also use Google Slides for your layout!

  • Open a new Google Slide.
  • Go to File, Page Setup, and then set the dimensions to 10 inches across by five inches high. This will make sure the slide deck is the same layout and size as the Panoform grid.
  • Now you just need to upload one of the grid images as the slide background. Having the grid background allows you to see where items should be.
  • Add clipart, text boxes, icons, and more just like you would when creating a presentation.
  • When done, be sure to delete the grid background (unless you don’t mind it being seen).
  • Save the slide as an image by clicking on File, Download, and then choosing JPG Image.

You can now use this file to upload to Panoform for your VR world. Instead of creating your own Google Slide for Panoform, feel free to use this template to jumpstart the fun.

Trying Out Virtual Reality

Here are a few images you can download to your device to use for exploring Panoform to get an idea of how it can be used.

  • Right-click on the image and choose Save Image As.
  • Save the image to your device.
  • When you are ready to upload to Panoform, go to https://tool.panoform.com. Click on the Choose an Image button to upload the image.

You can now drag the image around by using your mouse or clicking on the VR headset icon (lower right corner) to transfer the image to be used on a phone.

Though these are simple examples, think of concepts or content that could be divided into four parts (because there are four walls in the virtual cube). Each wall could be completely different or show a process being studied.

What concepts will you reinforce with Panoform? Will it be vocabulary (word, definition, used in a sentence, and illustration), world countries (country name, capitol, location on map, and major facts), the steps in solving Algebraic equations, or a summary of Macbeth (Title/author, setting with image, protagonist name with sketch of person, and themes)? Whatever you teach, Panoform can be an interesting way for students to summarize and demonstrate their learning.

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pi graphic
Content AreasGood TeachingMathSTEM/STEAM

Fun and Simple Pi Day Activities

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Happy soon-to-be Pi Day! I’ve gathered some fun ideas for you to consider using with your students as part of your Pi Day celebration. Because who doesn’t celebrate Pi Day, right? But first, let’s take a look at its origins.

When Was Pi Day First Celebrated?

Larry Shaw, a physicist at San Francisco Exploratorium, gets credit for having the earliest known official Pi Day celebration. In 1988, at a brainstorming retreat with co-workers, Larry had the initial idea for Pi Day. March 14, Larry and his wife served pies and tea on the museum floor to celebrate, and Pi Day has evolved since. On March 9, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives recognized March 14 as National Pi Day. Additionally, in November 2019, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s General Conference designated Pi Day as the International Day of Mathematics.

What Is Pi?

Pi (π) has been around for about 4,000 years. In Euclidean geometry, pi is the circumference (C) of any circle divided by the diameter (d) of the circle, thus giving us the formula π=C/d. Regardless of the circle’s size, the ratio is always pi. And because pi is an irrational number, it has no ending, meaning that it continues forever without repeating.

History of Pi Calculations

Babylonians gave a rough calculation of pi as 3.125. The Rhind Papyrus from Egypt identified the calculation to be 3.1605. Next in line, Archimedes determined that it is between 3 1/7 and 3 10/71. In 1610, it was calculated out to 35 digits, and later in 1789, it was calculated with an accuracy of 140 digits– with all calculations completed by hand. In 1949, the infamous ENIAC (Electronic Numeric Integrator and Computer) calculated it to 2,037 decimals. And as of last year, it was calculated to 62.8 trillion decimal places.

Fun Pi Day Activities

Memory Challenge

Because pi is an irrational number, it has no ending. Challenge your students to see who can memorize the most consecutive digits and recite them by memory. Depending on your grade level, set a goal for the students to reach. Direct your students to One Million Digits of Pi as a reference. You can also refer to the YouTube video below to learn a song to help with memorizing 100 digits.

A Cut Above

Students can complete this activity on their own or with a partner. All you’ll need are some paper plates, string, and scissors.

  • Step 1: Measure the string around the edge of the paper plate. Cut it to the size of the circumference.
  • Step 2: Take the string, measure it across the diameter of the plate, and cut it to length.
  • Step 3: Check how many diameter-length strings make up the length of the circumference string. Each group should get a little over three diameter lengths (approximately 3/20th of the diameter).
  • Step 4: Redo the experiment, but allow students to use a compass and draw a circle of any size.
  • Step 5: Guess how many diameter stings will match the length of the circumference string for this new circle. Usually, students will guess more for larger circles and less for smaller circles.
  • Step 6: Follow steps one through three using the circle they drew with their compass. How many diameter strings make up the length of the circumference this time? (HINT: They will all get three).

Once they discover they all have similar outcomes (a little over three diameter-length strings), explain that they have discovered the constant pi. Regardless of the size of the circle, the circumference will always equal a little more than three times the diameter. NOTE: It is best to use string and not yarn since yarn is stretchy, but students will still have an “Aha!” moment if yarn is all you’ve got.

image of supplies needed

Write a Pi-Ku

What could make a haiku even more interesting? Writing one about pi. A haiku is a Japanese poem with 17 total syllables– five in the first line, seven in the second line, and five in the third line. To give students some fodder to write about, consider reading one of the following:

Enjoy a YouTube Video

Watch one of the videos below about pi…while eating pie.

Paper Chain Pi

Students can create a paper chain with each link having a digit clearly written on it. Start by having students cut construction paper (or colored copy paper) into strips. Using a marker, a single digit is written on both sides of the strip. When students start assembling their pi chain, have them start with a link with the numeral 3 on it. Attach a link with a decimal on it. Then, continue adding links with the numbers accordingly. Students can tape, glue, or staple the paper to itself as they form each link.

Hang the pi chains in the hallway or an area where they can see and practice reciting the number as they go to various parts of the building. To help with memorization, make each numeral its own color. For example, all the ones are blue, twos are red, threes are green, etc. Have students make wristbands using this same strategy but with smaller paper strips.

Paper chain pi

Pi-scrapers

Create a scene of skyscrapers using the digits of pi. Students can use a spreadsheet to fill in the cells or create each skyscraper by gluing the specific number of squares going up. If the students are making their pi-scrapers with paper, have them draw windows every so often with something happening in the building. Each window could represent part of a story the students are reading or illustrate a particular mathematical symbol.

Pi-scraper

Math Fair

As mentioned above, UNESCO recognizes March 14 as International Day of Mathematics. So, why not hold a math fair? Similar to a science fair, a math fair highlights the importance of mathematics and allows students to demonstrate their favorite or interesting findings with math. This could be a great addition to parent-teacher conference night, where each class sets up a table outside their classroom with a math puzzle or information for the parent and other students to explore and read about. To get you started, here are a few math fair resources to check out if you have not hosted a math fair before.

Non-Math Activities

Even if you aren’t a math teacher, you can still participate. ELAR teachers can read and write stories about famous mathematicians. Social studies teachers can highlight mathematical geography or explore places of influence where different mathematicians lived. Art teachers can explore mathematics through the golden ratio, symmetry, or fractality. You can also highlight artists who were also great mathematical thinkers, such as Luca Pacioli, Leonardo Da Vinci, Albrecht Dürer, and M. C. Escher.

Pi Day art activities

How Will You Celebrate Pi Day?

So, how will you celebrate? Do you have a lesson that you’ll be using? Share it with us in the comments to help other teachers. Will you be doing a particular STEM or STEAM project? If so, we’d love to hear about it.

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