Lesson Title: How Many Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups?
Prescribed Learning Outcome(s): Students will pose questions and find solutions to answer the question: How many Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups?
Instructional Objective(s): 3.1.2.3 Represent multiplication facts using a variety of approaches, such as repeated addition, equal-sized groups, arrays, area models, equal jumps on a number line and skip counting. Represent division facts by using a variety of approaches, such as repeated subtraction, equal sharing and forming equal groups. Recognize the relationship between multiplication and division.
Students will show multiplication facts in more than one way – including repeated addition, equal sized groups, arrays, area models, and equal jumps on a number line and skip counting.
Act 1:
Click this link to see the Act 1 Video:
Show the students a video of a opening a bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and placing one on a white card.
Ask the students- What do you notice? What do you wonder?
Students may respond with:
How many fit on the card?
What is the perimeter of the card?
How many rows and columns are there?
Act 2:
Ask the students: what information do you need to solve this question?
Give the students the information that they need: 7 rows and 5 columns.
Allow students to work in pairs to solve: How many dots are there altogether?
Closure: Show students the answer.
Ask students to share their answers. Facilitate a discussion on the different strategies to solve how many Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups fit? Did students draw a diagram? Use repeated addition? Make an array? Skip count? Allow students to model all of their strategies for students.
Adventures in 3rd grade Mathematics 
Hi Kelly!
What a fun lesson 🙂 I also incorporated treats in my math task, that’s definitely an effective way to capture attention! I think this is a brilliant way to incorporate multiple entry points to your task, especially since you incorporate time at the end of the lesson to discuss the different strategies that were used to solve this problem. I also think that having the photo of the Reese’s cups placed in the first row/column to begin with is a great way to set the students up for success. Nice job!
-Kayla
LikeLike
Kelly,
I really like how you used the video Act 1 to get the students interested and have time to notice and wonder. I feel like you using the one peanut butter cup on the card in Act 1 helps to support their thinking.
I think this lesson is great for third graders because of their need to really understand multiplication and multiplication models. It is helpful that for students who may need more support you provided some guidance in Act two. Your purposeful questions in act 1 are good. I like that you incorporated math vocabulary.
I found it hard to plan purposeful questions without knowing students need. I do think that is one aspect of the lesson that feels missing, but it seemed to be lacking in my lesson as well.
LikeLike
Kelly,
Thank you for sharing your lesson! I think this was a great way for students to represent multiplication in a variety of choices. The fact that you used candy is an immediate attention grabber and the Act 1 video will also engage students. One thing that I tried to work on this week was developing purposeful questions that I would want to ask students. I am not always the greatest at that, but it does help with remembering concepts during a lesson. I really like how you gave students the opportunity to share their methods for solving the problem. I am wondering if creating some sort of visual listing the different methods may be useful at this grade level? Is this something that they could reference later in the year? Honestly, I am not sure! Overall, I really like your lesson and how you incorporated the different components that we learned this week!
LikeLike