April Fool's Math

Curious to know if anyone combines April Fool's Day and math, I did a little web search and found several ideas I hope you'll enjoy. April 1 is on Friday!

• April Fool Message - Students follow several steps using addition, subtraction and multiplication to form a message that can be read using a magic code.
• Mathematical Sleight-of-Hand - On the blog, Let's Play Math!, a reader poses a problem solving question that seems to have no rational explanation. Denise, the blog host, explains the problem, identifying it as sleight-of-hand where the barrage of numbers tricks the reader. This would be a fun problem to do with upper elementary students.
• Tricky Worksheet - This teacher share page includes two documents that can either be given to students or used as a model for creating your own unique page. Basically, the worksheets begin by asking students to read all instructions before proceeding. If students follow directions, they read to the bottom and learn that they're only to do a small portion (or none) of the worksheet.
• Math Class Shadow - This video records an April Fool's Day trick that a professor pulled on his college math class. Quite humorous to watch! You can access the video on YouTube or on the Math in the Middle blog.