Pizza is important in Darin DeNeal’s seventh-grade math class at Pendleton Heights Middle School. Not so much for eating, but because it’s a practical way to engage 13-year-old minds about how the science of numbers affects their daily lives. The lesson might typically begin with this question: Is a 16-inch pizza twice as large as an 8-inch pizza, or four times larger? Many adults reading this might say it’s twice as large because 8 + 8 = 16. Right? But students in DeNeal’s class would be able to tell you why that answer is wrong. One 16-inch pizza has roughly the same area as four 8-inch pizzas. Why? Because a pizza is a circle, and the area of a circle increases with the square of the radius
DeNeal teaches math by the slice #dyscalculia
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Something as easy as a pizza could be a useful manipulative when teaching students mathematics.
Applying these math skills to real-world situations are just several reasons DeNeal was named the secondary school winner of the Max Beigh Enriching Education Award conferred on top Madison County educators by the Anderson Noon Exchange Club earlier this month. While it isn’t always possible to use examples like the cost of pizza as a math teaching aid, “I try to make it as fun as I can,” DeNeal, 34, said in an interview last week. Many students arrive in class at the beginning of the year dreading the math challenges that lie ahead. The first nine weeks of class I’m really a salesman,” DeNeal said. “There is a lot of critical thinking and that’s not easy for them.”
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“The first nine weeks of class I’m really a salesman,” DeNeal said. “There is a lot of critical thinking and that’s not easy for them.”
"Key Takeaways:
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Using a pizza slice to teach math.
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How to apply math to real world situations.
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Innovative teaching idea to engage kids in math.
