Children share a paper sandwich equally.
By cutting and sharing paper sandwiches, children learn to share whole objects equally.
First, they cut square sandwiches to make equal shares.
Materials
- Paper Sandwich (PDF)
- Cardstock or plain paper
- Safety scissors (several pairs)
Preparation
- Print and cut out 3–6 paper sandwiches.
Directions
- Tell the class that you need their help cutting a sandwich and sharing the pieces. Show them a paper sandwich and ask for suggestions on how to divide it in half. Have a volunteer cut the sandwich in half according to one of their suggestions.
- Have another volunteer model how to place one piece on top of another to check that the pieces are the same size.
- Ask the class, Are the pieces equal? If not, encourage the rest of the class to provide solutions. They may suggest redistributing a bit of the bigger piece to the smaller piece, or starting over and planning the cut carefully by folding the sandwich in half or drawing a line down the middle. In either case, have another volunteer try one of the strategies suggested. Check that the halves are now equal in size and have yet another volunteer share the halves between 2 children.
- Repeat the activity, this time taking suggestions for cutting sandwiches into quarters and eighths and having new volunteers cut and share the pieces among 2, 4, or 8 children.
Note: For more of a challenge, have children cut a sandwich into sixteenths.