PART ONE

Objectives:
Students on their own will be able to determine what color of their own
m&ms had the most and the least after doing an activity with groups
outside. Students will also be able to compare the colors of m&ms
found as a whole class from our class bar graph. Students will also
make connections between the colors of m&ms and the benefits of
camouflage for animals and living things after a class discussion and
read aloud.
Related Standards:
1.MD.4: Organize, represent, and interpret data. Ask questions about
the total number of data points, how many in each category, and how
many more or less are in one category than another.
Procedure
(First part of activity)
1. Each table will get a bag with m&ms in it of five different colors
2. Each person at that table is in charge of keeping track of 1 of
those colors
a. 1s: brown
b. 2s: red
c. 3s: yellow
d. 4s: green
e. 5s: blue
3. Pass out table group record keeping sheet.
4. Each person will count how many of his or her color m&ms are in
the bag without opening it.
a. Go around the table and have all of the 5s start first by
counting the blues. Other table numbers should be
watching and checking. The 5s/blues will write down how
many blues they counted in their bag on their line. Will
continue with 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s.
5. When everyone has recorded their color on the sheet and all of
the colors are filled out, look at the bottom part. Fill in which
color has the most and which had the least.
6. Share from each table which had the most and which had the
least.
7. When all the sheets are completed, have the kids look back at
the number they counted for their color. Go grab that many
square slips of paper from the piles by the teacher.
8. Kids have the correct number of colored papers that match the
number of that color m&ms. Tell students they are now going to

group together with reds, yellows, browns, greens, and blues

from other tables.
9. Show students the color group data sheet. Explain how they will
need to write their name on the line and right next to it in the
box is where they are going to write down the number of reds,
yellows, browns, greens, and blues they found at their table.
a. Who found the most? The least?
b. Work together to find a way where you are going to add
ALL of that color m&ms together. Write down any tool you
used or show a picture you can use the slips of paper you
got to help keep track of your counting. Write the total in
the blank spot.
10.
Wait for all groups to finish counting how many of that
color there is all-together. As they finish tell them to join us on
the carpet.
11.
Have a paper for graphing already on the board. As
students are sitting they will be holding their colored slips of
paper from earlier in their bags. Call on kids who are ready and
listening in no color order.
12.
Class should watch as one by one they get to come up to
the class graph and glue on their slips of paper in the row next to
the color name.
a. As students come up and glue them on, have them make
guesses as which one they think might end with the most
and how that changes as more people come up.
b. With empty bags, hand to teacher and write names on
bags for second part of the activity.
13.
Without counting, have kids look at the final before graph.
Talk about which one was longest/has the most and which one is
shortest/has the least.
14.
Bring table group papers to kids attention and say what the
different tables got as their most and least color. Was it different
when we look at whole class all the tables together? Was it the
same?
15.
Bring color group papers to kids attention. Go by group and
have that color group say what they got as their total. Whole
class will check. Teacher will write that number next to the row of
color slips.

PART TWO
Objectives:
Students on their own will be able to determine what color of their own
m&ms had the most and the least after doing an activity with groups
outside. Students will also be able to compare the colors of m&ms
found as a whole class from our class bar graph. Students will also
make connections between the colors of m&ms and the benefits of
camouflage for animals and living things after a class discussion and
read aloud.
Related Standards:
1.MD.4: Organize, represent, and interpret data. Ask questions about
the total number of data points, how many in each category, and how
many more or less are in one category than another.
LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms
Adult plants and animals can have young in many kinds of
animals, parents, and the offspring themselves engage in behaviors
that help the offspring to survive.
Procedure Teacher and Student actions:
(**Second part of this activity)
1. Mix all of the m&ms together and sort 5 into each bag. (Instead
of having 25 m&ms in 5 bags there will now be 5 m&ms in 25
bags) TA
a. Every kid will get a bag of 5 random and different colored
m&ms. Stress that it is not important what colors they start
with.
2. Students will carry their m&m bags with them as we head
outside. SA
a. Tell students if they decide to eat their m&ms or open up
their bags they will not be able to participate in the activity.
TA

3. Direct students to get in a big circle. Go over expectations with

students before anyone begins doing anything with the m&ms.
TA
a. Explain and model first they are going to carefully take out
their m&ms and put them in their hands. (make an analogy
to how they wait for hand sanitizer; hands should be
cupped)
b. After you have your m&ms you are going to turn around so
you are facing the outside of the circle.
c. Teacher will say 1, 2, 3 GO. When you hear go that means
you can throw your m&ms.
d. Go over how to throw the m&ms. You are going to throw
straight in front of you so you should not hit anyone else.
e. After you throw it you need freeze and turn back to face
me in the circle.
4. Once all kids understand the rules, have them take out their
m&ms like practiced, turn around, and count 1, 2, 3, go. Kids will
throw and FREEZE. SA
5. Next step I am going to use my phone and set a timer. The timer
I set is going to be for 20 seconds. When I say go you are going
to look around on the ground for m&ms. When the timer goes off
and I yell freeze. I need all of you to stop where you are and
come back by me. TA
a. How many m&ms did we all walk out with? 5. When you
are looking you cannot pick up MORE THAN 5. If you find 5
before the timer is done and see more you can help
another friend who hasnt found all of theirs or you can
come stand by me and wait until the timer goes off.
b. It might even be a little tricky to find 5; it is absolutely okay
if you can only find 1, 2, 3, or 4.
6. Put your new m&ms in the same bag you carried your other ones
out in. Do not open it in line or in the classroom. SA
Assessment:

Go inside to the classroom. Have students go to their tables with

their bags. Lay out their bags this time students will have their
own sheet to fill out for recording how many of each color they
have. SA
o If they have no red or no blue, they will just mark a 0. You
might not have every color.
Students will need to get color squares again that match the
m&m colors they were able to find outside. SA
o Teacher will call colors one at a time (red, yellow, brown,
green, and blue.) When the teacher calls out a certain

color, anyone who has found that color outside and come
up and grab that right number of colored squares. TA
Put your initials on the back of the colored squares so you dont
lose them. Double check and make sure your colored squares
match the m&ms you collected. SA
Sit on the carpet ready to share. SA
Make graph that looks like the one we did before. Do you think
this graph will look different than the one we made earlier? Why?
TA
Lets find out, call up kids one by one. Glue on their colors. Mark
how many each child left off so it is easier to count up to get our
total. TA/SA
When all colors are glued on, have students compare the colors
on the after graph (dont put it next to the before graph yet) SA
o Which one has the most now? Which one has the least?
Put up before graph. Model how you noticed kids saying in the
before green had the most but after green had one of the least.
TA
o Why did that happen? Are any other colors different in our
two graphs?
Prompt kids to think about which ones it was harder to find and
why. Students will hopefully talk about how they blended in with
their background.
o Ask kids if they know any animals that blend in to their
background?
o Why do you think some animals are able to blend in? How
does that help animals?
Read book about camouflage to solidify ideas about the benefits
of camouflage.