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Do the Mahi. Get the Treats

Author: Sara Sprague
Mathematics and Statistics,
Posted 2 years ago

There is nothing like chocolate to motivate some hard work thinking. Fair sharing a giant block of chocolate was a deliciously rich mathematical task - in more ways than one.

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To find out how many pieces of chocolate were in the block we counted in twos and got 56. Then we saw the block was a timetable and it was 7 x 8 = 56 . On our photocopied block of chocolate we wrote the name of each person in the class on the pieces of chocolate to prove we got two pieces each. Gnapika
Mrs Sprague has bought a giant block of chocolate. The block of chocolate needs to be fairly shared amongst the class. Work out how many pieces of chocolate each student in Room 3 will get.
Mrs Sprague has bought a giant block of chocolate. The block of chocolate needs to be fairly shared amongst the class. Work out how many pieces of chocolate each student in Room 3 will get.

Our purpose is to solve mathematical problems

We will know we have successed when 

  • Show everything you did to solve the problem.

  • Explain your thinking using numbers, pictures, and or words.

  • Show as many solutions as you can.

I figured out how many students there were in Room 3 today by counting the photos on the “I am at school board”. If everyone is here we have 28 students. Ava
I halved the block of chocolate and got two groups of 28. We had 24 students in the class today to share with so I took away one row of chocolate which was 8 squares and then I had two groups of 24 so each person in the class got 2 pieces of chocolate. H
I figured out how many students there were in Room 3 today by counting the photos on the “I am at school board”. If everyone is here we have 28 students. Ava
I halved the block of chocolate and got two groups of 28. We had 24 students in the class today to share with so I took away one row of chocolate which was 8 squares and then I had two groups of 24 so each person in the class got 2 pieces of chocolate. H
The most speedy problem solvers We work out that 56 ➗ 24 = 2 with 8 pieces left over because we knew 24 + 24 = 48 and 56 - 48 = 8. We tried to give Mrs Sprague the last 8 pieces but she said no left overs and that we had to share them with the class so
Benjamin knew that 24 ➗ 8 = 3 so we worked out each person would get 2 pieces and ⅓ of a piece of chocolate.
Then Mrs Sprague said we had to prove it and show Laura our thinking. So we cut up our photocopied block of chocolate into 24 groups to prove it to her.
Benjamin knew that 24 ➗ 8 = 3 so we worked out each person would get 2 pieces and ⅓ of a piece of chocolate.
Then Mrs Sprague said we had to prove it and show Laura our thinking. So we cut up our photocopied block of chocolate into 24 groups to prove it to her.
We had to come up with as many solutions as possible. So after we used our brains we used a calculator. The calculator said 56 ➗ 24 = 2.31. 0.3 is part of a whole like a fraction. ⅓ = 0.3.Kian
I tried to share the 8 left over pieces in quarters first but quarters were too many. Then I worked out it was thirds that we needed to share the leftovers into. I drew 8 pieces of chocolate and then shared 24 between the pieces and found it was three -
We had to come up with as many solutions as possible. So after we used our brains we used a calculator. The calculator said 56 ➗ 24 = 2.31. 0.3 is part of a whole like a fraction. ⅓ = 0.3.Kian
I tried to share the 8 left over pieces in quarters first but quarters were too many. Then I worked out it was thirds that we needed to share the leftovers into. I drew 8 pieces of chocolate and then shared 24 between the pieces and found it was three -
I figured out that 24 + 24 = 48. I know this because 20 + 20 = 40 and 4 + 4 = 8 so 40 + 8 = 48. Kase
I figured out that 24 + 24 = 48. I know this because 20 + 20 = 40 and 4 + 4 = 8 so 40 + 8 = 48. Kase

Next Steps

Mrs Sprague has shared this rich task with the rest of the Ohaaki Team to have a go at. She is also investigating another problem solving activity that involves sharing chocolate from  nrich.maths.org.

2024 Sprague

Sara Sprague

I have been teaching since 2004. I started teaching at Wairakei Primary School in 2011. I am married to Steve and we have two children – Myles and Amelia. Myles and Amelia both enjoyed their primary school years here at Wairakei Primary School. I am really proud to be part of this school and appreciate all the amazing opportunities that are given to our children.

I like working with children and teaching. I love the fun that can be had and the feeling of being a part of a child’s growth and development. My favourite subject is maths. I appreciate the patterns and connections that can be found in numbers and I enjoy problem-solving. I have trained as a Math Specialist Teacher (MST).

My family and I love living in the Taupō area. When I’m not teaching I enjoy spending time with my family, walking my dog and mountain biking - which is a particular family passion.

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