Make Adorable Fraction Pies

By Leah | February 16, 2022 Pi Day Math Activity

Get ready for Pi Day on March 14th with an adorable math craft your students will love. On Pi Day, math enthusiasts everywhere celebrate the mathematical constant, π (pi), whose first three digits are 3.14. While pi signifies the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, in this activity, we're celebrating a more universal recognition of pie...the food! Children will make their own fruit pie craft and use it to practice fractions. Read on to find out more!

Make a Fraction Pie

Making a fraction pie is easy and fun! Here are a few materials you will need to gather in order to do this activity with your students:

Construction paper
Scissors
Glue
Bingo dabbers, finger paint, or stamps
Circular object to trace, like a plastic lid
Ruler
Pencil

Once you have all the supplies, here is how to make a fraction fruit pie:

Choose a light-colored piece of construction paper, like white or tan.

Use the pencil and a circular object to trace a circle onto the piece of construction paper.

Decide what kind of fruits/berries you will use to fill your pie, such as blueberries, cherries, and so on. Choose the bingo dabber or finger paint that matches the color of your pie filling.

Use the bingo dabber to fill the circle you traced with "fruit."

Cut out the circle with scissors and set it aside.

Choose a tan or brown-colored piece of construction paper. Use a ruler to trace strips along the paper, width-wise.

Cut out the strips and arrange them in a weave pattern across the top of the circle filled with "fruit." Glue them in place.

Trim off the excess with a pair of scissors.

Now your adorable fruit pie is complete and little ones can use it to practice fractions!

Practice Fractions

How will you use your fruit pie manipulative tool to practice fractions?

Here are some ideas:

Students can trace fractional parts directly onto their fruit pie with a pencil and use scissors to cut the pie into the fractional parts (like fourths).
Laminate the fruit pie craft and have students draw fractional parts on their pie with a dry erase marker in order to practice different fractions again and again (halves, thirds, fourths, and so on).
Use students' fruit pie crafts as examples on your overhead projector to practice fractional parts together as a class. For each fruit pie, overlay transparent film over the craft and draw fractional parts with a dry erase marker for your students to observe.

As you can imagine, there are lots of ways to use pies to practice fractions with little ones! This activity is ideal for second grade, third grade, and fourth grade students. We hope you will give it a go with your little learners!

How do you celebrate Pi Day in your classroom? We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a comment below.

Looking for more fun, educational activities to practice basic fractions with your class? Visit the Super Teacher Worksheets Basic Fractions Collection.