Dessert is always something that people crave to have. Why not incorporate favorite desserts into math class!
For this activity, students will have to change serving sizes of dessert recipes so that everyone in their class gets a piece. Show the pictures of delicious treats and discuss that the recipes for these sweets only have a serving size of 4 which is a bummer since there are 24 students in the class. Discuss with the class what they need to do in order to make sure there is enough of the treat for everyone in the class to eat or bring home.
Provide multiple recipes with a serving size of 4 so that students have the options of choosing (recipes in link below). Once students get into groups they must use multiplication of fractions to figure out how much of each ingredient is needed to make a serving size of 24 for their recipe. Once the new recipes with the proper serving size is created, the students will create a poster with how they solved the problem and the amounts of each ingredient that is needed. Students will present their recipes to the class. Once the class has agreed that all calculations are correct and the ingredient amounts will create the proper serving size, the class can make these desserts (must be no bake recipes).
Since students can still complete the task without converting into different units, I will not give the conversion chart to all students, to reduce confusion since we have not gone over it before. If students ask about converting, I will provide it to those students who ask for it to add a challenge.
This activity could be used culturally by using recipes from different cultures. Students from the class could bring in family recipes that are from a different culture. This opens up conversation about different cultures and allows students to share their backgrounds.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NF6- Solve real world problems involving multiplication of fractions and mixed fractions, by using visual fraction models or equations to represent the problem.
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP6- Attend to precision by having students calculate multiplication problems using fractions accurately and effectively expressing numerical answers with a degree of precision appropriate for each problem in context to the real-world problem.
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1- Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them by checking their answers to problems using different methods and asking themselves “does this make sense?”