Before the Thanksgiving break, I created a project for my students.  They were asked to plan a large Thanksgiving dinner for their family.  They would first need to decide who they would invite.  Then, they were asked to plan out what they wanted to cook.  Afterwards, they were asked to figure how much of each item they would need to be able to feed their entire guest list.  They would then need to go grocery shopping for their ingredients and see how much it would cost them.  After cooking the meal (by cutting out magazine images), they would need to set the table for the feast!

All students took part in this project and enjoyed the entire process.  They were delighted to see their work posted in the hallway, and many were amazed at how much a Thanksgiving dinner can run.  Many of my advanced students chose to “cook” more food than required, which allowed them to do additional calculations. One of the highlights for me was when one student said, “Ms. Payne, that was not math. That was fun!”

Download the Thanksgiving Dinner Math Project Resources.

• Aligned to CC.4.NBT.5 and CC.4.NBT.6 (4th Grade Math)