Fraction Fun with Snacks!

Happy Monday! We have our final assessment of the year tomorrow, a Constructed Response Assessment covering the Fraction Domain of the Common Core standards. My students have been working so hard reviewing, practicing, and studying their study guide. So I decided to let them have some fun today (while still trying to sneak in some last minute review). 
 

I called this Fraction Fun with Snacks! You need skittles (18 per student), Twizzlers (3 pieces per student), and brownies (1/2 of a brownie per student).


First up, we used the Twizzlers to model dividing a whole number by a unit fraction. The students were given 3 pieces of Twizzlers. We read the problem and discussed what we should do with the Twizzlers as required by the problem. The students acted out the problem on their plates, then drew models to represent what they had done on their paper. Then we discussed what operation they were doing and recorded the necessary equations. Finally, the students wrapped this activity up with a sentence stating the answer and a written explanation. It took only about 10 minutes!

Then, we moved on to the Skittles Math. This one was a multi-step problem that required the students to multiply fractions by whole numbers and then use that information to answer the question. They had to decide if it was possible to eat 5/6 of a total amount of skittles and have enough to save 1/3 of the skittles as well. This was a good problem for us because I still have some kiddos that want to take the second fraction amount from the leftover skittles and not the total. The students had to physically group the 18 skittles into 6 groups and take 5 out to determine how many skittles 5/6 of 18 was. Then we discussed whether we were taking 1/3 of the leftover skittles or the total amount. Then, they had to regroup all of the skittles into groups of 3, this time taking out 1 from each group to determine 1/3 of 18. Then, they determined the answer. Just as before, they were required to represent what they had done with a model, equations, and finally the answer and a written explanation.

Last up, brownie fun! I gave each student 1/2 of a brownie. They placed the brownie on their plate and drew the missing 1/2 on their plate with a pencil. Then we took 5/8 of the remaining brownie. We discussed the importance of also taking 5/8 of the missing 1/2 they had drawn on their plate. This has been a struggle for some of the kids but I think they finally understood that you had to also cut the other pieces into eighths otherwise your pieces would not be equal. Then, they represented what they had done with a model, wrote their equations, answered one more question about the leftover brownie amount, and they were done.

Overall, it only took about 30 minutes to complete all of the activities and the kids had a blast. I let them eat the snacks they had used while they were completing the handout.

Click on the picture below to get your free copy of the handouts used.

 Do you use food in an instructional way in your classroom? I would love to hear your ideas! Any excuse to eat snacks!


 

 

Teacher Appreciation Week: Huge Sale for You

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, Teachers Pay Teachers is holding one of its awesome site wide sales! 

  

Everything in my store will be 20% off! Then, use the code TAD13 to receive an additional 10% to receive a total of 28% off! 

For more stores that will be having this sale, click on the picture to go to check out the awesome teachers that make up All Things Upper Elementary and check out their featured products!

Special thanks to Zip a Dee Doo Dah Designs for the sale graphic! And Peanut Gallery for the ATUE graphic.

I know I will be stocking up on some clipart to keep me busy this summer! What are you excited about buying?



 

Field Day Fun: 3 More Weeks of School!

Summer is quickly approaching! 3 more weeks for us. With the end of the year winding down, the kids are beginning to get antsy and ready for summer (and let’s be honest, so are the teachers!) I don’t know about you but this is the time when I have to really think outside the box to keep my students engaged and excited about being in the classroom. This is a huge feat on special days, like Field Day! At our school, Field Day is sponsored by a local high school and they do a fabulous job! Unfortunately, we have to share the day with primary, so our field day is only half a day. We are not allowed to show movies, but we are allowed to loosen the reins and have some structured fun. Enter: Field Day Centers! 

 

The students were grouped into 5 groups and rotated around the classroom to have fun and enjoy 5 different field day themed centers. Here is what they did:

Spoons Center:

For this center, the students played Spoons and tried to get four of the same field day image. We play Spoons all the time, but it is always educational. It was a nice break for the kids to get to play Spoons in a relaxing fun way!

Would You Rather:

The students paired up within their groups and asked each other would you rather questions that were field day themed. The students had to defend their choices with an explanation to their partner. This was a fun center that really got the kids talking and discussing their choices. 

Ad Lib Story:

This one had me cracking up! The students filled in one side of the paper with specific parts of speech. Then unfolded their paper, filled in the story with their words from the other side, read the story, and laughed! Sneaking in some language review as well.

 

Memory:

The students played a memory game that required them to match common field day game titles with their descriptions.  I managed to sneak in some reading in this one because they had to use clues from the description and the title to find the matches.

Writing Prompts:

 

In this center, the kids wrote some seriously goofy field day stories. They first chose a prompt from the list of prompts. Then, they rolled the cube to find out who their mystery “person” was…anyone from a purple alien to the president. They had to finish the prompt with the “person” they rolled.

This field day was the best ever! The field day itself was great…nice breezy day, the volunteers engaged the kids, and no 5^th grade drama (well there was a little at the end). Then these centers ended the day on another fun note. You can find these centers by clicking here or on the picture below.

Look at this adorable poster one of my kids made for the day. So cute!

    

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!