Pi(e) Day

March 14th was a special day in our class, as we celebrated Pi (3.14).  The day began with reading where we read about the historical components of pi which led up to today's usage of the irrational number.  Next, we measured the circumference and diameter of many pies to calculate pi.  We quickly realized that it was difficult to measure the outside of a circle accurately, even with multiple hands holding a tape measure.  After lunch we reversed this process and used the diameter of a paper plate and pi to calculate the circumference of the plate.  After checking our math by actually measuring the plate we learned how to use pi to calculate the area of the plate.  The day ended with a voluntary  Pi Contest.  Students in our class and the other 5th grades demonstrated how many digits of pi they had memorized.  Skylee in our class won first prize by memorizing 93 digits of pi (Yes, NINETY-THREE!).  Second through fourth place went to students in Mrs. Espinosa's class with numbers in the sixties, fifties, and fourties.  Pretty impressive.