How To Create Math Fun With Palindromes In 2020!

     Most of us know that a palindrome is a word or phrase that is spelled and read the same both forwards and backwards. Kids love to share simple palindromes such as mom, dad, wow, Otto, Anna. Older students have often discovered longer words such as racecar, kayak, level. Keep talking and you'll find phrases such as, "Madam, I'm Adam." And, if you've run out of other examples, pull out the mind-blowing, "A man, a plan, a canal: Panama" on your kids!

     Teachers often make a math connection with palindromes. Numbers that are read the same forward and backward count as palindromes. Go as simply as you wish - even a number such as 55 is technically a palindrome.

     Palindrome fans and symmetry lovers are always delighted when a day, a week, or even a month contains a forward-backward date. This year, 2020, contains a few palindromic dates, but you may have to play with the format. Now is a great time to introduce or review the concept and set kids up with some fun activities to mark these special dates. Maybe you could text or email your students from last year and remind them to celebrate!

     Keeping in mind that different places use different date formats, here are the palindromic dates for 2020:


 So, how do you celebrate Palindrome Week? Here are some ideas:



Let me know how you prepare and celebrate Palindrome Week, 2020!  We're all in this together!