Here is something mathematicians young and old are sure to enjoy - a maths lesson with added chocolate! Year 4 and Year 5 lesson plans from J.M.Powell take pupils step-by-step through an investigation of the proportions of colours in packs of Smarties, with suggested extension ideas for more able children.

Year 4 pupils record the numbers of different colours in their packet using tally sheets and frequency tables, then transfer the information into a pictogram. Groups of four then cumulate their data and produce a new frequency table.

The plenary gets the whole class involved in populating an interactive bar chart, explaining the reasoning behind necessary adjustments of rows, columns and labels.

Year 5 pupils are extended by working out the fraction of each colour within a box, then exploring how these fractions change when the Smarties are eaten one by one.

What are teachers saying?

kat66 says: “It sent us in many directions . we adapted the lesson to use decimals, fractions, percentages, adding and subtracting and graphing.” Tea_anyone admitted that not all the packs of Smarties made it to the classroom .

Try this resource out with your pupils and give us your feedback.