Part two in a series of Thanksgiving Day lessons. Today, the students will decide how many slices of pie are needed and how many pies the teacher will purchase for the Thanksgiving Day treat.
Suggested Grades: K-2
In the last lesson, the students learned how to document data (votes) on a T-chart and to count the data by taking tally marks. In this lesson the students will learn how to share a pie (the one with the most votes) with their classmates.
Materials:
Paper plate pies sectioned into eighths
A paper slice of pie for each student
Pencils and/or crayons
Prior Knowledge: Start by reviewing the information (data) from the T-Chart with the class. Summarize the data again.
Read the book, Pizza Parts: Fractions!, or another fraction book. Just take caution that some fraction books may be too difficult for young mathematicians.
Teach:
After reading the book, say to students,"Today we are going to figure out how many pies that I need to purchase so that each student can have a slice of pie." Give some examples from the book. Draw a large pizza pie and ask how many slices of pizza that there are in the whole pie. Tell the students that a fraction means, part of a whole. Chart the definition. Ask the students to tell you how many slices would be left if you ate one (color one slice in). For example, teach the students that 1/8 of the pie has been eaten. Work your way up to 4/8 or 1/2 of the pie.
Procedure:
Next show the students the apple or pumpkin pies that you have made on paper plates. Ask how many of slices of pie that they can count on each pie. Next show them the individual slices that you have made for each of them. Tell them that they are going to write their first names on one "slice" of pie and tape their "slice" of pie piece on top of one on the paper pie plate. In the end you have a simple way that they can see how many pies will need to be purchased for each student to have one slice to eat. Count the number of slices that the class will eat and then count the number of pies that the teacher will purchase. In a later lesson, the students can practice fractions again with the pies that they have created. This can also make a great center game or work for small group instruction.
Assess:
Assessment may come later after several fraction lessons. Here you want to know if the students can tell you how many slices of pie the class needs and how many pies that the teacher should purchase.