Grade Level

K – 6^th

This lesson is designed to cover the range of grades from kindergarten through sixth grade using M&Ms as the primary manipulative tool; each section can be tailored for any classroom based on age and grade level to meet a particular grade level math standard or strand. Our presentation is a way to show how M&M math can be used at any elementary level for any math concept or skill.

Description/Overview

Some elementary school students have a difficult time with basic math concepts, skills and processes because math has traditionally been taught abstractly and primarily as paper-and-pencil computations. Using M&Ms ("real" objects that children can relate to) as a manipulative will provide students with a real-world experience to refer to later when using the math skills and processes in a non-real-world situation (i.e. using math skills in an abstract manner).

Purpose

This lesson is designed to improve students’ understanding of various math skills and processes, including: counting, comparing, relationships, addition, subtraction, fractions, geometry, grouping, graphing, estimating, sorting, predicting, gathering data, and interpreting data. Students will work collaboratively with a partner throughout the lesson to accomplish the various tasks presented to them.

Objectives

1. Students will color code each of the 5 worksheets needed for the lesson. Students will color the M&M worksheet according to the M&Ms’ colors. (K – 6^th grade)
2. Students will sort their M&Ms by color and make 6 different groupings (by color). (K – 6^th grade)
3. Students will estimate the number of M&Ms in their bad before opening the bag. (K – 6^th grade)
4. Students will classify, group and record data. (K – 6^th grade)
5. Students will perform the operations of addition and subtraction. (1^st – 6^th grade)
6. Students will identify and use <, >, and = symbols. (1^st –6^th grade)
7. Students will prepare bar graphs showing the number of M&Ms for each color. (1^st – 6^th grade)
8. Students will identify the numerator and denominator. (4^th – 6^th)
9. Students will write fractions, both in the numerical and longhand forms. (4^th – 6^th)
10. Students will work cooperatively with a partner. (K – 6^th)

1. Crayons/markers/colored pencils
2. Pencils
3. 5 different worksheets: a) Sorting Circles b) Record Data c) Record Data d) Bar Graph


e) Learning Fractions with M&Ms

4. One bag of M&Ms per pair of students
5. Book: The M&Ms Counting Book


By Barbara Barbieri McGrath (1994, Charlesbridge Publishing, Watertown, MA)

6. Other counting books for examples

Motivating the students will not be that difficult once they learn that the lesson involves M&Ms and that they will get to eat the M&Ms when they are done gathering data, interpreting data, graphing, sorting, etc. In addition, the lesson begins with the teacher reading a book to the students that is directly related to the upcoming lesson. At any level K-6 children enjoy being read to, so this will also help motivate them for the lesson.

Procedure

1. Introduce The M&Ms Counting Book to the students, reading the title, author, and illustrator. Ask the students to predict what they think the book is about. Ask for more developed answers than "it’s about M&Ms". Read The M&Ms Counting Book by Barbara Barbieri McGrath. After reading the book, show and/or discuss with the students that there are many books and stories written that can help them with math.
2. Explain that today’s math lesson is going to be fun and that they are going to use M&Ms to do their work. Remind the students not to open the M&Ms and that they are not to eat the M&Ms until they are told to do so; anyone caught not following these instructions will not get to use the M&Ms, but will have to use colored counters instead.
3. Allow the students to select a partner for today’s activities.
4. Give each student his/her own set of 5 worksheets needed to do the activities. Students are able to work with a partner, but everyone must have his/her own written work.
5. Explain to the students that most of the lesson is their time, that the teacher will only get them started and help explain each section of the activities. First have the students use crayons/markers/colored pencils to color code the worksheets (color the sorting circles the color that is inside the circle, etc.).
6. Refer the students to worksheet #1 (Record Data worksheet with numbers 1-7). Give the students instructions and let them complete the worksheet: estimate number of M&Ms in bag; count M&Ms to check prediction; sort M&Ms by color (place in sorting circles on the appropriate worksheet); determine the differences between the sets using the < and > symbols; use letters as abbreviations for the colors; do addition and subtraction problems.
7. Refer the students to worksheet #2 (Record Data worksheet with numbers 8-10). Students should count out 15 M&Ms and use only those 15 M&Ms to do problems 8-10. Teacher should do the first problem with the students and then let the students finish the worksheet.
8. Refer the students to the bar graph worksheet. Explain how to complete the graph and allow the students time to fill the bar graph in, using the information they gathered from their own bag of M&Ms.
9. Post the results from each pair.
10. Discussion: Do all of the M&M bags used in this activity contain the same number of M&Ms? How can you explain this? Why do you think there were more dark brown M&M in the bag? What combinations of two colors produced the greatest amount of M&Ms? How does the number of dark brown M&Ms compare with the number of all of the other M&Ms together? This last question can lead the class into the next part of the activity: fractions.
11. Explain that the number of dark brown M&Ms is a part of the whole bag of M&Ms, just as the other colors of M&Ms represent a part of the whole bag of M&Ms. All the M&Ms together make up the whole bag of M&Ms. When we compared the number of dark brown M&Ms to the rest of the M&Ms we began exploring the idea of fractions. We have done some practice with fractions, now we will look at fractions more closely by using the M&Ms.
12. Refer the students to the worksheet titled "Learning Fractions with M&Ms". Either count all of the M&Ms again or get that number from the other worksheet; need to write the total number of M&Ms from your bag on the worksheet. Walk the students through the first part of the worksheet (green M&Ms): How many green M&Ms do you have? Write that number on the worksheet. Remember that when we write fractions, the part we are considering is the number on top and the whole is the number on bottom (write on the board using P for part and W for whole). We give these numbers special names: numerator and denominator (write on the board using N for numerator and D for denominator). Write the fraction of green M&Ms on the worksheet. Say to yourself if you have 6 green M&Ms, for example: 6 out of 67 M&Ms are green. So your fraction would be 6/67. Just below the fraction you wrote with numbers, write the fraction in longhand, that is, write the words you say when writing the fraction. Complete the worksheet.
13. Discussion: What is the numerator? What is the denominator? What do these numbers represent? What is a fraction? Which color M&Ms have the largest fraction? Which color M&Ms have the smallest fraction? Does the smallest fraction tell you the same thing as when you simply counted the number of M&Ms? What did you learn about fractions?
14. Allow the students to eat their M&Ms.

Closure

Debrief the lesson, allowing students to express what they learned in the lesson (orally and/or in writing in math journals).

Assessment

Assessment of student learning will be concurrent with the instruction; this lesson is designed for immediate feedback. We will be able to see who has grasped the various concepts and who needs more practice during instruction and from oral and written responses. The evidence we will have, then, includes the worksheets the students will complete, student responses, and student questions. Essentially, the students will be assessed through the objectives set forth for this lesson.

1. Students can respond orally and in writing, with questions, comments and answers. (K – 6^th)
2. Students can show/demonstrate understanding using the M&Ms and the worksheets. Students can give explanations of skills and concepts simply by using the manipulative. (K – 6^th)
3. What percentage of students was able to successfully color-code the worksheets? (K – 6^th)
4. Which students had trouble sorting and grouping the M&Ms by color? (K – 6^th)
5. How realistic were students’ estimations for the number of M&Ms in the bag before opening? (K – 6^th)
6. What percentage of students was able to transfer their gathering of information to the worksheets? What percentage of students was able to demonstrate their data but unable to put it in writing on the worksheet? (K – 6^th)
7. How many addition and subtraction problems were correct? What were the errors made? What strategies were the students using? (1^st – 6^th)
8. Could the students identify < and >? Could the students use the < and > symbols correctly? (1^st – 6^th) If the students could not use the < and > signs correctly, could they still identify greater than and less than in another way? (K – 6^th)
9. Were the students successful in making a bar graph? What percentage of students was able to complete a bar graph? If trouble, what was the problem? (1^st – 6^th)
10. What percentage of students could identify and define the numerator and denominator? What depth of explanation did the students use (other than the number on top or bottom)? If students could not verbalize the information, could they demonstrate their understanding in another way? (4^th – 6^th)
11. How many students were able to write numerical fractions representing their M&Ms? (3^rd – 6^th) What percentage of students was able to write fractions in the longhand form? If unable to write, could they tell you or demonstrate the longhand form? (4^th – 6^th)
12. Were the students able to work together productively? Did they share the M&Ms? Did they share control? Did they divide tasks? Was their any arguing? How well did the students work together in pairs? (K – 6^th)
13. Each part of the lesson builds upon the previous activity, therefore students’ understanding (orally, in writing, using the M&Ms) can be assessed along the way. (K – 6^th)

1. The first part of the lesson instructs the students to color-code their worksheets. Everywhere the word for a color appears students will use crayons/markers/colored pencils to highlight or color the word/picture. Using the actual color instead of relying on the black and white print, makes the lesson explicit for all students, especially English language learners and students who need extra visual help (i.e. those who need help focusing on one thing at a time or those who need visual stimulus rather than just words on a page).
2. The entire lesson relies on the use of a manipulative, M&Ms. Again, this helps students at all levels of understanding because it provides a hand-on, real-world experience.

1. The lesson can be done with other products, such as cookies, crackers, cereal, and other candies.
2. The students could create different kinds of graphs – bar graphs, line graphs, pie graphs, picture graphs.
3. The class could make graphs of other activities in the classroom – ages, birth months, favorite pets, favorite books, etc.

Were our instructions and directions clear and concise? Could we have explained it differently to those who needed extra support? How well did the lesson go? Were the students successful? What worked well? Were there any rough spots? How could we have made it better?