Menu Planning Challenge

Overview

Students act as a team to plan a class party menu using multiplication and division. They calculate total quantities (multiplication), then decide serving amounts (division), and present their results to the class.

Learning intentions

• Students will use multiplication to find totals for grouped quantities.
• Students will use division to share items equally and interpret remainders in a real context.
• Students will explain their thinking using words, pictures, and number sentences.
• Students will check whether their menu amounts make sense for the class.

Success criteria

• I can write a multiplication sentence to find the total number of items needed.
• I can use division to determine how many servings (or how many items per serving) we can make.
• I can represent my work with drawings, arrays, or diagrams and explain my strategy.
• I can check my answers by making sure quantities fit the party plan.

Curriculum links

• Apply multiplication and division to solve problems involving equal groups and sharing.
• Use representations (e.g., arrays, area models, drawings, number lines) to show multiplication and division thinking.
• Communicate mathematical reasoning clearly using words and equations.
• Use estimation or reasoning to check if answers are reasonable.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min: Warm-up—Think & Talk

• Display two short story prompts (e.g., “3 bags of 6 chips” and “18 cookies shared equally among 3 groups”).
• Students turn-and-talk: “Which operation fits and why?” Take 2–3 quick shares.

2. 5–15 min: Mini-lesson—Multiplication meets division

• Explain the context: You are planning a menu for a class of 25 students.
• Model one example end-to-end:
• Multiplication: “We want 4 muffins per student” → 25 × 4 = total muffins.
• Division: “We have 120 muffins and need to serve them to 25 students” → 120 ÷ 25 = servings/muffins per student (discuss remainder meaning if it occurs).
• Emphasise that division answers must be interpreted: “each student gets…” and remainders mean “some leftovers.”

3. 15–25 min: Set up teams + plan sheet

• Students form teams of 3–4 (about 6–8 teams for 25 students).
• Give each team a Menu Planning Sheet with the same class party constraints:
• Class size: 25 students
• Each team chooses 2–3 food items from a provided menu (teacher provides counts per package).
• They must decide either:
• Muffins: choose a “per student” amount (multiplication), then convert to package totals, or
• Package totals: start with packages available, then divide to find items per student (division).
• Teacher circulates and checks that each team includes both operations in their plan.

4. 25–40 min: Team work—Calculate totals

• Teams complete calculations for their selected items.
• Require at least one multiplication equation and one division equation per team.
• Students use drawings (arrays/boxes) or number lines to support understanding, not just equations.
• Teacher prompts: “How do you know this amount works for 25 students?” and “What does the remainder mean?”

5. 40–53 min: Team work—Share and adjust

• Teams double-check reasonableness:
• Does the total match the number of students and servings?
• If division leaves a remainder, do they revise the plan (e.g., add one package or change servings)?
• Each team finalises a short “presentation summary”: chosen items, multiplication total, division serving decision, and one check/justification.

6. 53–60 min: Presentations—Math in action

• Each team presents for about 2 minutes.
• Listener task: “Find one place where they used multiplication, and one place where they interpreted division.”
• End with 2–3 whole-class reflections: strategies used, how remainders were handled, and how checking improved accuracy.

Resources

• Menu Planning Sheet for each team (food options, package sizes, student count)
• Dry-erase boards or scrap paper for calculations and representations
• Markers/pencils, erasers
• Teacher display: example worked problem (multiplication + division)
• Calculator (optional for checking only; students do the reasoning)
• Sticky notes for “Two operations” listener feedback
• A class-size card: “25 students”

Assessment

• Observe and record whether students correctly match multiplication to totals for equal groups and division to sharing/serving decisions.
• Review Menu Planning Sheets for correct equations, appropriate representations, and clear written/verbal explanations.
• During presentations, assess communication: students can explain what the division answer (and any remainder) means in the context.

Differentiation

• Support:
• Provide a partially completed example sentence frame (e.g., “Total = 25 × __” and “Each student gets __ ÷ 25”).
• Offer an “equal groups” diagram template (boxes for 25 students, groups shown with a repeated pattern).
• Extension:
• Ask teams to compare two menu options and choose the better one using a comparison statement (e.g., “Option A gives each student more than Option B”).
• Challenge teams to justify a remainder choice: “Do we round up, add one package, or reduce serving? Explain.”
• EAL:
• Use sentence starters for reasoning (e.g., “I multiplied because…”, “The division tells us…”, “The remainder means…”).
• Allow oral explanations recorded by the student partner or teacher scribe if needed.
• SEN:
• Reduce the number of food items per team while keeping both operations required.
• Provide step-by-step worked supports and check-ins at the same time intervals as the lesson sequence.