Preview · the opening missionRead this to the class:
The class is planning a trail mix for a field trip, and there are three recipes. Recipe A says: 3/4 cup oats and 2/4 cup raisins. Recipe B says: 1/3 cup seeds and 2/3 cup cereal. Recipe C says: 1/2 cup popcorn and 1/4 cup dried apple. Jordan added up Recipe A and said, "3/4 and 2/4 makes 5/8 of a cup. That's less than a cup!" Your team's job: measure all three recipes with real cups, find which one makes the most, and check whether Jordan is right.
Teams of three, with jobs that rotate after each recipe: Scooper (fills and levels each cup), Pourer (pours into the container), Recorder (marks the level and writes the sums). Use the rice for every ingredient.
Look inside the PDF
Sample pages, stamped “preview”. The download is the clean, full lesson.
In the full lesson PDF
8 printable pages
- Predict (5–10 min)
- Hunt (20 min)
- Reveal (10–15 min)
- Act (10 min)
- Background for the teacher
- Assessment
- Student sheet
- Worksheet: Label it
- Worksheet: Try it at home
On the student sheet
- My prediction
- Our recipes
- What did we find?
- Draw it
- Our note to the planners
- Exit ticket
- Label it
- Try it at home
US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white. The student sheet is on its own page, ready to photocopy.
Free with an account (any 3 lessons), or US$19 for all 4 lessons in this unit.
What students show by the end
- Adds fractions with the same denominator
- Works with fractions greater than 1
- Decomposes a fraction
From the lesson’s rubric, which scores each one as not yet, getting there or got it.
Questions teachers ask
How long does “Which recipe makes more?” take?
50–60 min. Group size: teams of 3.
How much prep does it need?
15 minutes: for each team, set out a tray, a set of measuring cups (1 cup, 1/2, 1/3 and 1/4 cup), a clear straight-sided plastic container that holds about 2 cups (500 mL), such as a deli tub or the bottom of a 2 L bottle with the cut edge taped, a strip of masking tape and a marker. Pour about 2 cups of dry rice or dried lentils into a bowl for each team. The rice is for measuring only.
What materials do I need?
Measuring cups; clear straight-sided container, about 500 mL (2 cups); dry rice or dried lentils; tray, masking tape and a marker. Cost: about $10 for rice and a few cup sets if the school has none.
Which curriculum standards does it cover?
Common Core Math (US): 3.NF.A.1 and 4.NF.B.3 (partly).
What’s in the lesson PDF?
A teacher guide that walks you through predict, hunt, reveal, act, background for the teacher and assessment, then a student sheet (“My prediction”, “Our recipes”, “What did we find?”, “Draw it”, “Our note to the planners”, “Exit ticket”, “Label it” and “Try it at home”) on its own page, ready to photocopy. It’s US Letter and prints cleanly in black and white.
Can I try it for free?
Yes. A free account includes any 3 full lessons of your choice, and this can be one of them. After that, this unit is US$19 for all 4 lessons, yours to keep, or every lesson is US$199 a year.