5 Ways to Celebrate Math Month

Celebrate Math Month

Math month is celebrated in April each year. Why? Math has an image problem, a negative reputation of sorts. If math teachers received a nickel for every time a student asked, “When will I ever need to use this after I graduate?” – well, do the math.

At it’s heart, math is a critical tool in solving many problems in the real world. On the face of it, students probably don’t realize that math and statistics are central in ensuring our messaging and internet are secure, that modelling climate change, trends, and other big data is all math-based, and that genetic advancements and medical research has math at their heart. And everyday, the applications of math is widening into ever more sectors, such as biotechnology, energy, business, sustainability, medicine, transport and AI, to name just some. 

Without math, we simply lack a driver of innovation and the ability to either increase or decrease complexity.

Mathematics Awareness Week was established in 1986 with the hope of increasing public appreciation of math. It was later changed to a month-long celebration of math. Take advantage of this math month and explore the wonder of the world of numbers by engaging your students or child with one of the following activities that we think they’ll love.

Math Month Activity #1: Math Poetry

As it happens, the month of April is also Poetry Month, so why not combine the two themes and create some fun math poetry? This can take a number of forms:

  • You can create poetry about math
  • A poem can be created around a mathematical concept like the Fibonacci sequence
  • Or you can use actual math to create a poem or limeric, like this example

Math Month Activity #2: Ask Fermi Questions

Quick! How many drops of water are in a gallon? No calculator allowed! Nobel Prize winning physicist Enrico Fermi was known for his capacity to perform rapid mental estimations. The goal of answering a Fermi question is to find an answer on the correct order of magnitude instead of an exact number. For example, I would estimate there are about 20 drops of water in a teaspoon and 768 teaspoons in a gallon. To make it easier, I can round 768 to 800 and guess that a gallon has around 16,000 drops of water. Whether the precise answer is 10,000 or 90,000 does not matter for a Fermi question, what matters is the answer is on the correct order of magnitude (104 in this case). To get started, visit fermiquestions.com.

Another fun variation of this is to have an estimation jar. Fill it with jelly beans, or any other filling like dried beans, buttons, or marbles, and students can take turns estimating (or guessing!) what the answer is. The closest answer wins the prize – or if it’s something like buttons or beans, a better prize 🙂

Math Month Activity #3: Write to Manufacturers about Metric Misuse

Ask your students to make a list of products at home and record the metric labeling for volume or mass printed on the labels exactly as they appear on the products. Then have students compare the labels with the U.S. Metric Association’s guide to “Correct SI-Metric Usage.” Chances are, at least one of the products will be metrically mislabeled. Next, have each student write to a manufacturer and either point out incorrect metric usage (politely!) or thank them for promoting good metric usage. As a bonus, many manufacturers will kindly respond to student letters.

Math Month Activity #4: Explore Math in the Workplace

Dispel the myth that students will never use math once they leave school by inviting professionals to your class to share how they use math in their careers. Take a field trip a local business willing to give a tour and discuss the importance of math in the workplace. Students may be surprised to learn how often math is used outside the classroom. For more information, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics offers a Periodic Table of Stem Careers.

Math Month Activity #5: Watch a Math Movie

What student doesn’t love a movie? From The Theory of Everything to Stand and Deliver to Moneyball to Good Will Hunting, finding a movie featuring math content isn’t difficult. Get started by checking out this list of movies featuring positive math themes. Also, read Test Designer’s article on using movies in the classroom.

Bonus Math Month Activities: Read a Math Book

Who doesn’t love a good book? And if you can get one about math that isn’t  a textbook, all the better. We suggest Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi by Wayne Geehan (or you can check out a reading of it YouTube). Characters with fun names like Sir Cumference and Lady Di Ameter, bring light-hearted fun on an adventure that see’s our hero turned into a fire-breathing dragon and solving riddles and math puzzles to change him back.

Further Reading

Read our articles, “How to Write Higher-Order Math Questions” and “Top STEM Competitions – Could Your Student Be the Next Winner?” for more math education ideas.

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