Making a Pi Necklace
by Diana Funke
As a 7th grade math teacher, I like to make mathematics as visual as possible. For
Pi Day, my students make Pi necklaces.
I use Pi as a way of introducing my students to the idea of an irrational number.
After studying decimals that terminate or repeat, I ask them to bring in a can and
we compare the circumference to the diameter by dividing C by d. This is how they
find out what Pi is all about.
I have them make a Pi necklace to reinforce the idea that some numbers never repeat
or end. We usually use from 100 to 300 beads, depending on the size of the bead.
They assign a color to each digit (including 0) and then string beads of those
colors into a necklace, using the digits of Pi as their guide. Some students make
their own beads with polymer clay and others string store-bought beads of all sizes.
The first bead, representing the number three, is bigger than the rest.
(In the illustration, the necklace has a big silver triangular "bead"
as the whole number 3 part of Pi.)
At 1:59 P.M. we all stop what we are doing and wish everyone a Happy Pi Day!
Diana Funke, Mathematics teacher
Davisville Middle School
North Kingstown, RI
ride1033@ride.ri.net
|
The Math Forum is a research and educational enterprise of the Drexel University School of Education.