Love is in the air! Valentine's Day is always an exciting time for students and I love it because it gets them to focus on others, rather than on "getting". In the spirit of this heart-filled day, this favorite math lesson uses conversation hearts to reinforce upper grade math concepts.
Give each student (or pair of kids) a baggie of conversation hearts. First, have them estimate how many conversation hearts are in their baggie. (Hint: to make decimals & percentages conversion simpler, have 20 OR 25 hearts per baggie) Next, count and sort hearts by color. Students record their findings as a fraction. Remind them to count the total number of conversation hearts (denominator), then each colored set of hearts is the numerator
Since each baggie has either 20 or 25 hearts, review how to convert fractions into decimals, then percentages. Multiply the hearts in the baggies of 20 by 5 (thus, making 100%) and multiply the hearts in the baggies of 25 by 4 (thus, making 100%).
After displaying their data as charts or graphs, students analyze the data. They write statements such as: "I have 2/20 yellow hearts." or "I have more white hearts than green hearts because 9/20 > 2/20" or “I have less pink hearts than purple hearts because 30% is less than 70%”
After all their data is recorded & displayed, students can enjoy eating their conversation hearts, once all the math is complete. Click HERE or on the image below to grab your copy!
Click on the links below for more terrific teaching ideas!
No comments
Post a Comment