Take Note: If the shoes fit

How many shoes would it take to fill a classroom? That's a question students nationwide are pondering to enter the "Math Talk Shoe-In Sweepstakes," a contest designed to mark Mathematics Awareness Week, which is this week.

More than 1,200 entries had been submitted as of last week, and entries will be accepted until May 1.

Classes are approaching the contest in a variety of ways. For example, Carol Rausch's 3rd-grade class at Milford South Elementary School in Milford, Ohio, started with a...