Few things can motivate children to learn like the promise of a sweet and tasty treat. Given a bag of M&M®s, Skittles®, or other colorful candy, students first predict the contents of the bag before counting the pieces,...

Everything in moderation, especially candy. Scholars design and build a dispenser for candy. But, they can't get too carried away—only three or four pieces of candy can come out of the dispenser at one time.

Every child's dream: stuffing as much candy into a bag as possible. Doing this, though, requires a nice sturdy bag. Scholars design the sturdiest bag they can and test the limits of those bag using a sweet treat!

Package design is an economic necessity. Young scholars assume the role in an interesting inquiry-based lesson. Given 24 cubic shaped candies to package, they must determine the arrangement that uses the least amount of cardboard to...

Don't play favorites when separating candy colors. Pupils use the process of chromatography to separate the colors of two different types of candy-coated candies. Class members compare their results to an unknown sample to determine...

Wonder how many pieces of candy a teacher can eat. Pupils watch a video of candy in a bowl as some candy is removed to be eaten and others are added. Learners devise questions about the situation along with estimated solutions. Scholars...

Time for more candy! Learners view a video of a candy bowl where some of the candy is removed and more placed back. Scholars come up with questions about the scenario to answer and request additional information from the teacher. At the...

Help Christina figure out how many chocolate and lemon candies she has with a lesson on decomposing numbers. When presenting this context to the class, the teacher chooses the total number of candies and the number that are chocolate,...

Candy rocks! A sweet lesson offers a different take on the rock candy experiment. Groups use a supersaturated sugar solution to create rock candy. Pupils then add other ingredients to the solution to test their effect on the...

Students create their own hearts. In this art lesson, students take two candy canes making a heart that can be taped onto anything.

Choose a tagger. The rest of the class runs around the gym. If a runner is tagged, they must freeze and stand in the shape of a candy cane. To get back into the game, another runner must run underneath the arch of the candy cane.

Learning ... how sweet it is! A hands-on lesson uses colored candies to demonstrate how positive and negative charges interact. Pupils use different types of liquids and watch as the color from the candies spreads—or doesn't. 

What's in a cell, anyway? Kids read informational text on what makes up both animal and plant cells, including a page of vocabulary terms they will need to be familiar with (cytoplasm, ribosomes, vacuoles, etc.). Full-color images...

Mixture problems are a classic in first-year algebra. Unfortunately, many learners approach them in a formulaic fashion and don't truly understand the meaning of the algebraic expressions they are using. Here, the questions are not the...

Take your best educated guess. After being presented with a video of a glass of candies, class members estimate the number of each color of candies. Pupils view a graphic showing more information on the fraction of candies before...

Students create their own candy jar. In this art lesson, students sort M&M's by color layering the colors in the glass jar, glue a fabric circle on the top, tie a ribbon around the top, and give the jar to someone special.

Convey your interest in conveyor belts. By considering different size tubes, groups create a conveyor belt that can transport boxes of candy at least four feet. Also, the conveyor belt must make a 90-degree turn—quite a difficult task!

How much rain can that cloud make? Through a simulation, the class estimates the amount of candy rain contained in different cup clouds. After probing the clouds using different methods, class members adjust their estimates. Participants...

Students "plant" mints for Christmas. In this Christmas lesson, students "plant" starlight mints in the ground. You switch the mints with candy canes, so when the students come out they think their mints have grown. 

Students make gifts. In this art lesson, students place hot chocolate mix, chocolate kisses, mini-marshmallows and a candy cane in a cup and write a poem or a little note for the person who is given the cup.

Use fractions to estimate candy counts. After watching a video of emptying a bag of candies into a glass, individuals estimate the number of candies of each color. The teacher provides the class with additional information to help answer...

Mint candies are good for more than just one's breath. Using basic materials such as mint candies, straws, index cards, and Popsicle sticks, scholars create race cars that meet a given budget as well as design constraints. They perform...

There are more ways to use mint candies than to just eat them. In groups, learners design and build race cars using mint candies, drinking straws, Popsicle sticks, index cards, and other materials. They decide on an independent variable...

Candy is always a good motivator! Use this collection of M&M's® experiments to introduce statistics topics, including mean, standard deviation, nonlinear transformation, and many more. The use of a hands-on model with...