M&M Fractions

This activity provides a fun and tangiable way for students to learn baisc fractions and be able to have a fun treat as a reward as well. The students will use the M&Ms to understand fractions.

The student should have a basic understanding of creating 1/2, 1/4, 3/4, 1/3, and 2/3. They should also have a basic understanding of how to add these basic fractions.

A couple of bags of plain M&Ms.

1. Distribute ten M&Ms to each student.

2. Explain to the the students that they are going to learn fractions using the M&M's.

3. As a class divide the ten M&M's into a half.

4. Then have students take away two M&M's.

5. Use the eight M&M's to learn fourths.

6. Use nine M&M's to learn thirds.

7. Write some basic addition or subtraction problems on the board and allow the students to use the M&M's to help them solve them. For example: 3/4 -1/4 =

or 1/4 + 1/4= Do make sure you note how many M&M's are used to solve each problem. Let the students divide the M&M's into the two figures and do the math and complete the problems.

8. Finally, let the children who are able to do so eat the M&Ms as a treat.

Grade by participation or accuracy of the board problems using school or district standards, but make sure to assess student understanding using observation and questioning.