G is for Candy Corn Graphing and Fractions

Graphing visually represents data and can be a fun, engaging activity for all especially when candy is involved. Alyssa and I have done many, many graphing activities over the years. We started graphing at a very young age. Candy graphs have always been an activity that sparked her curiosity. In the beginning, she never realized any of the items graphed were candy ... now she obviously KNOWS. I never let her taste the candy at a young age and I limit the amount of candy she eats now. I also have a rule that she can't ask to eat any of the candy as we work. If she does, then she won't be allowed to have any at all. This usually eliminates the constant begging throughout the activity. In most cases, she is allowed to eat a few after we are finished with all candy math activities for the day.

Supplies Needed

• Small Ziplock Baggies
• Autumn or Harvest Mix Candy Corn (pumpkins, regular, and indian or chocolate)
• Crayons (orange-pumpkins, yellow-regular, and brown-chocolate) and Pencil
• Awesome Candy Corn Graph found at Tattling to the Teacher (Thank you!)

Candy Corn Graphing

1. Give each child in your family or class a small bag of mixed candy corn pieces.
2. Have the child sort the candy into three vertical groups. The child will place the actual candy corn pieces on their graphs.
3. They will count the candy in each column and mark each box with a dot using the correct crayon color.
4. The next step is to color in the graph to represent the data.
5. Compare the results by asking questions as seen on the graph paper.
6. Extend the activity by asking several more comparison or addition questions such as: Which do you have the least amount of? How many more _____ do you have than _____? How many candy corn pieces do I have in all if I add together the pumpkins and chocolate candy corns?
7. Discuss and write fractional parts. You can even add fractional parts together if you have a child ready for the next level. I did briefly show her how to add fractions. 

The graph boxes aren't big enough and won't fit the candy pieces but it helped her sort them vertically.

She used a colored dot to represent each piece of candy corn.

I also asked her to write the fractions for each type.

Candy Corn Fractions
We decided to extend the activity and discuss fractions since we have been working on this concept again this week.

1. Create a flip book to represent fractional parts by folding a large piece of manilla paper or white cardstock in half "hot dog" style as seen below.
2. Open it and cut three slits or flaps on the top part toward the fold. The children can then write fractions for each type of candy corn

Front
____ out of ____ are pumpkins
____ out of ____ are regular candy corn
____ out of ____ are chocolate flavored

Note: Alyssa decided she wanted to illustrate the fraction on the front with circles. She scribbled them in because daddy was tempting her to go outside with him. She also labeled it brown instead of chocolate because the chocolate ones were colored brown on the graph.

Inside
The child can write the fraction inside the flip book.

Other Candy Corn Graphing

Herding Cats in Kidnergarten

Kidscount 1234

123 Learning Curriculum - This can easily be used as a graphing activity using candy (cut top part off) or use it to create a large floor graph.

Extended Family Graphing Project
You can create a favorite candy corn flavor poll on Facebook or on your family blog - there are different flavors available in stores. Have the children graph and compare the data results. Make the graph a hands-on project where they are required to work together. You can use painter's tape, yarn, post-its, index cards, poster board, physical objects, and so forth to create floor graphs. Use a candy corn template or actual candies to create the graph. There is a candy corn template located in my candy corn math post here.

Do you have a candy corn graph printable to share with us? Please tell us where to find it in the comments below. I would love to visit your blog - leave a comment with a direct link to your blog. Thank You!

I will link this post up at Blogging Through the Alphabet. This week we are blogging about the letter G. Please join in on the fun! I will also link up at Montessori Monday, Math Monday Blog Hop, Preschool and Kindergarten Corner, Homeschooling on the Cheap, and ABC 123's Noted Show and Tell Blog Hop. Click on the links or buttons below to read other posts.