Music notes sing a song of pi day

     Pi Day is so exciting for math nerds! It's observed on March 14, connecting to the most common estimation, 3.14. Even if your grade level doesn't have a math standard for pi, students can still have loads of fun learning about this essential math concept. 

     There are tons of ways to celebrate Pi Day. Click here to discover some budget-friendly ways to celebrate pi!  

     One of my favorite ways to prepare for and observe Pi Day is to sing, sing, sing! Over the decades, I've gathered a number of songs, set to familiar tunes. These songs actually teach the concepts of pi. Kids love being on the silly train as they sing, but they're learning some pretty cool concepts, whether they know it or not!

Click here to download your FREE copy of the Pi Day Songbook!

     
Pi Day Songbook Cover



     Each songbook is half-page sized. When you download the songbook, you'll find clear directions for prep. Just print, staple along the side, and cut in half. 
Pi Day Songbook

Fun graphics are included. This whole book can be printed in color or black and white.

Pi Day Songbook

     The last page of the songbook includes some nifty facts about pi. Some of them will definitely amaze your students! For example, did you know:
  • We've calculated pi to 6.4 billion places!
  • Pi is only an approximation.
  • At decimal point #764, there are six 9s in a row. It's known as the Feynman Point.

How To Use Your Free Pi Day Songbook

Once you have printed and prepped your Pi Day Songbook, there are ways to integrate it into many other lessons. For example,
ELA: Read the fun fact on the last page together or independently. This activity can easily fit into a reading and/or math standard during your lessons.
ELA: Pick a song and have kids pull out the math info out of the lyrics. Ask: What does this song tell you about pi? Add it to a running list or anchor chart.

  • ELA: Have kids add new lyrics or re-write some of the existing ones.
  • MATH: Students can sketch and label a circle, its diameter, its radius, and its circumference. As they sing, have them point to the specific parts.
  • MATH: Simply singing the songs several times a day can help cement the concepts for kids. 
  • MATH: Challenge students to find the jokes hidden in some of the songs. We've all giggled or rolled our eyes over the "pi r square" routine. See it they can explain why that's (sort of) funny!
  • MATH: Students can look up the math definitions for transcendental and irrational. Challenge them to explain the terms in simple language.
  • SCIENCE/MATH: Have kids research Einstein, Euclid, Isaac Newton, or Ludolph van Ceulen.
  • MUSIC: Singing is so fun for kids! Adding in content-rich songs is perfect for educational multi-tasking. Challenge kids to pick another simple melody and write lyrics.

     If you're thinking about really diving into a Pi Day celebration this year, remember to start early! January and February are not too soon to begin learning these adorable songs. Who knows? Maybe you can even go "Pi Day Caroling" around your school!

     I'd love to know how the Pi Day Songbook works for you! Remember,
Growing Grade By Grade
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8 Reasons Book Banning Hurts Our Children


     

Book banning is here to stay. It has seasons of more attention and seasons of less. New books addressing new topics bring out detractors fully armed with reasons that specific books should be pulled from library shelves. 

This risky practice must be challenged. It is up to us as teachers, parents, and the community at large to stand against any attempt to ban books. Read on for eight important reasons that book banning hurts children.

Click here for the talking points of this post.

1. Book banning is censorship.   

Censorship is illegal in America. Freedom of speech is the foundation of our country and is protected in the First Amendment to the Constitution. Sharing information is part of our national personality and a pillar of our economy. Any deliberate obstruction to sources of information is, by definition, censorship. The consequences of censorship can be dire: lack of timely, useful knowledge is damaging to us now and in the future. By suppressing ideas and information, book banning is the literary version of cancel culture.

The American Library Association is an excellent resource for guidance. The ALA "resists all efforts to censor library resources". Read their Code of Ethics here.

2. Book banning is elitist.

Book censors believe they are superior in some ways and that others should fall in with their decisions. They believe their ideas and values are right and others are wrong. That’s a very slippery and dangerous slope to start down.

3. Book banning is privileged.  

Book censorship takes away personal choices from the majority of a community and gives them to a few people – or even to one person. It actually gives those in a position to ban books more power than the rest of us. 

Click here to access the American Library Association Guidelines For Reconsideration Committees

4. Book censors have ulterior motives. 

Supporters of banning books like to think they’re concerned for children. But what often drives them are religious, political, and social biases. We should be as concerned about the people who want to ban books as they are concerned about specific books. We need to ask: What is really motivating you? Racism? Homophobia? Politics?

5. Censors have a narrow perspective. 

Book censors impose a narrow perspective on others. They don’t understand the struggles that many children live with. They think the best way to handle these topics is to ignore them. But, when we ignore topics, we ignore the people they affect. It's as if we're telling them, “Your lives are unimportant. Your struggles are repulsive. Don’t share them with us.”

The very fact that book censors' messaging is, "Other people should think like I do", should put us all on alert.

6. The consequences of censorship are dangerous.

  • Censorship threatens our very democracy by violating our free speech. That may be the most crucial reason to reject all attempts at censorship. When we are stifled as to what we can read, watch, and see, we are no longer a democracy, but an authoritarian state.
  • Education can help level the playing field for citizens in different social situations. Horace Mann, a public school pioneer, called education "the great equalizer". 
  • Censorship is a threat to the potential of American public education. If teachers are afraid to teach critical thinking skills within the curriculum, we lose vital opportunities to develop critical thinkers.
  • Censorship breeds ignorance. When even our history lessons are censored, we miss vital opportunities to learn from the past and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. 
  • Being censored limits information. Without the empowerment of information, citizens cannot challenge the status quo.  

7. Children need guidance, not censure. 

As a teacher and a parent, I found that children will self-regulate. If a book has topics that are too explicit or mature for that child, they will put it down and choose another one.

On the other hand, if a child does choose a book with mature themes, it means they are ready to deal with potentially tough topics. Then they need the adults in their lives – teachers, parents, clergy, and others - to support their choice, maybe read it with them, and help them understand what they’re grappling with. What they don’t need is these same adults taking books out of their hands and denying them the chance to grow.

One book, in particular, is being considered for banning in several states. It’s titled George, by Alex Dino, and is partly autobiographical. The most heartbreaking part is that the main character deals with an important self-discovery issue all alone in the 4th grade. Yes, many children are ready earlier than we think. 

One writer on the subject, Emily Grafton, made it simple: “Ignoring a kid’s reality doesn’t make it go away. It just means the kid gets to suffer alone.”

8. Parents' rights extend only to their own children. 

If parents want to restrict what their own children read, they have the right to do that – and they should. But, no parent has the right to restrict what other children read. Taking books from public school shelves is an attempt to control how other people’s children grow and think. Access to books is a pillar of our education system. Books should be available when students are ready for them.

It should not fall on the taxpaying parent to buy book after book for their children all because people in power are afraid of the topics.

If we really want kids to be “college and career ready”, we have to teach them to listen to others, accept that others have realities that we may not, empathize with them, and learn how to live in a world where everyone is different, but valued.

We should not bend to the will of a few, we should see the broader picture that is education and reject any attempt to ban books. 

If you'd like help starting a book club for kids, click here for an easy method that's budget-friendly.

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Here's how you can have fun with palindromes in your classroom!

What is a palindrome?

A palindrome is a word, phrase, or sentence that is spelled and read the same both forward and backward. Kids love to share simple palindromes like:
  • aha
  • did
  • level
  • noon
  • Anna
 Older students often discover longer words such as:
  • racecar
  • kayak
  • civic
  • repaper
  • solos
Keep working and you'll find phrases such as:
  • My gym
  • Top spot
  • Too hot to hoot.
  • No lemon, no melon
  • Don't nod.
If you've run out of other examples, pull out these mind-blowing sentences:
  • Madam, I'm Adam.
  • A man, a plan, a canal: Panama.
  • Pull up, Eva, we're here, wave, pull up.
  • Was it a car or a cat I saw?
  • Mr. Owl at my metal worm.

Number Palindromes

     Teachers can make a math connection with palindromes. Numbers that are read the same forward and backward count as palindromes. Go as simple as you wish - even a number such as 55 is technically a palindrome. Challenge kids to create palindromic numbers like:
  • 12321
  • 42877824
  • 3434343
     When a day, a week, or even a month contains a forward-backward date, palindrome fans and symmetry lovers are delighted! This year, 2021, 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!

     There are so many fun activities for palindromes in both math and writing! Subscribe here and download a full list of words, phrases, and activities for your classroom!

     Remembering that different places use different date formats, here are the M-D-Y palindromic dates for 2022:


And it's always fun to get a streak of palindromic dates! Look what happens in February 2022!


And, can you imagine the fun you'll have this year on a real "2's" Day?


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



Let me know how you prepare and celebrate Palindrome Week, 2022!  





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