Owen's Marshmallow Chick Math Lesson Plan
Teach Kindergartners How to Match and Sort Objects by Color
Feb 13, 2009
In this Kindergarten math lesson plan, teachers use Kevin Henkes's picture book Owen's Marshmallow Chick [HarperFestival, 2003] to introduce Kindergartners to the concepts of how to match objects by color and how to sort objects by color. The story's setting and plot make this book appropriate for use as part of an Easter math lesson plan that can be adapted for use with any holiday during which children receive treats.
How to Share Owen's Marshmallow Chick with Students
Display the cover and have students try to identify the object in Owen's hand (a marshmallow chick). Ask them to use picture clues (and any prior knowledge they have of Owen if they have already read Owen [HarperCollins, 1993], Kevin Henkes's previous book about this character) to predict how Owen feels about the chick and why he might feel this way (He loves it because it is yellow like his favorite blanket).
Next, read the book to students. Pause as Owen takes each kind of candy out of his Easter basket and discuss how he feels about the candy and what he does with it. When Owen reaches the marshmallow chick, have students predict what he will do with it.
At the end of the book, have students check their predictions and discuss how and why Owen's reaction to the marshmallow chick was different from his reaction to the other kinds of candy (It reminds him of his blanket, so he keeps it as a toy and plays with it instead of eating it). For in-depth discussion of the book's theme, talk with students about what it means to say something is your "favorite" kind of a thing, whether people can have more than one thing that is their favorite thing, and how and when a person's favorite thing might change.
Kindergartners Match Objects by Color and Sort Objects by Color
To begin the math portion of this Kindergarten math lesson plan, remind students that Owen likes the chick because it matches the color of his blanket, or is the same color as it. Discuss how things that match are related to each other or are the same in some way. Then, give students practice with how to match objects. Provide each student with a set of marshmallow chicks in different colors (for example, Marshmallow Peeps® in yellow, pink, blue, lavender, and green) and sheets of construction paper in matching colors. The papers are "blankets," and students should match each blanket and chick by color.
Next, give pairs or small groups an assortment of marshmallow chicks and marshmallow candy in other Easter or spring shapes, such as bunnies and tulips. Discuss how when you sort a pile of objects, you put the objects into different groups based on ways they are alike. Then, give students practice with how to sort objects. Have students begin by sorting their marshmallow candy into two simple groups: candy that is one particular color (like yellow) and all the rest of the candy that is not that color. Have them sort and resort the candy until they have practice with sorting each color into its own group. Then, have students sort all the candy by color into multiple groups, one for each color.
With minor adjustments, Kindergarten teachers can perform the above Easter candy activities with any type of Easter candy that comes in different colors, from jellybeans and gumdrops to foil-wrapped chocolate Easter eggs and pastel M&Ms. (CAUTION: Check that no students are allergic to candy ingredients such as milk, nuts, or eggs.) Teachers could also use cutout paper pictures of candy.
Candy Math Lesson Plan Extension Activities
Have advanced students practice sorting the marshmallow candy by shape as well as color.
Using a real Easter basket and real Easter candy or felt representations on a felt board, introduce and discuss the concepts of full and empty. Place in the basket jellybeans, gumdrops, buttercream eggs, a chocolate bunny, and a marshmallow chick. Reread the pages of the book where Owen eats his treats, and remove each treat from the basket until none are left. Have volunteers move the objects in and out of the basket to change its state from full to empty. For more advanced students, discuss concepts such as half-full, mostly full, mostly empty, and so on.
Using real Easter candy or felt representations on a felt board, introduce and discuss the concept of relative size. Put a big chocolate bunny next to a little marshmallow chick and discuss the concepts of big and little. Then put the marshmallow chick next to a tiny jellybean and discuss how now the chick is big and the jellybean is little. Have advanced students arrange all of the kinds of candy in a line in order from biggest to smallest.
Using Easter candy as the focus for this candy math lesson plan will keep students interested in practicing matching and sorting. Teachers (and parents) can use up Easter candy while giving students practice with basic math skills.
Teachers searching for other holiday-themed candy lesson plans based on books from Kevin Henkes's A Box of Treats can use Julius's Candy Corn [HarperFestival, 2003] in a Halloween Kindergarten math lesson plan to teach subtraction, Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick [HarperFestival, 2001] in a Christmas elementary candy math lesson plan to teach fractions, and Wemberly's Ice-Cream Star [HarperFestival, 2003] in a Fourth of July elementary science lesson plan to teach how a solid changes to a liquid.
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