One of my favorite springtime activities is Easter egg hunts. Regardless of whether there’s anything inside the eggs, the excitement and adventure that goes along with hunting those small, plastic eggs make it such a fun activity. Younger students may participate in Easter egg hunts for candy or small prizes. That doesn’t mean that upper elementary students can’t get in on the fun, too! There are many ways you can easily incorporate Easter eggs into your math lessons.
4th and 5th graders are definitely not too old to participate in the fun and will love these fun twists using those familiar plastic eggs! Here are just a few ways to get your students egg-cited about math this Spring!
Math Problem Easter Egg Hunts
This is probably one of the easiest, but most fun Easter egg activities you can add to your math lessons. It’s as simple as filling and hiding Easter eggs with skill-specific problems. There are many ways you can differentiate this activity by using different colored eggs or specific locations for your students to search for eggs.
I use two print-and-go options for Easter egg hunts in my math class – calculating elapsed time and basic multiplication problems. These two activities provide a fun opportunity for extra practice for my students. Plus, it’s super simple to prep and set up.
Simply print the problem sheets. I like to use colored cardstock in bright colors that complement the colors of the Easter eggs I’m using. You could even go as far as laminating the problem slips with a lighter weight laminating pouch (3 mil is a bit thinner and will allow you to roll the problems inside the eggs) so you can reuse them every year.
Once you have your problems printed and stuffed in your eggs, all you need to do is hide them, pass out the recording sheets and let the fun begin!
Easter egg hunts are great inside the classroom (you can hide the eggs during lunch or specials), but you can also team up with other classes and hold a larger hunt.
Looking for hands-on, inquiry-based activities?
Math Equation Mix-Up Eggs
This is another engaging activity but takes a little more prep time. You’ll write math equations on plastic Easter eggs. Write the problem on the tops of the eggs and the answer to the problem on the bottom part of the egg, like in the photo below.
You can keep your equation on one colored egg for an easier game or mix it up and put the answer on a different colored egg (so the students can’t solve the problems solely on the color of the eggs).
Now, hide your eggs like a traditional Easter egg hunt. Once your students start to find eggs, they’ll have to play a game similar to I Have…Who Has? They’ll need to find the answer to the problem written on the top of their egg. This will give them a chance to work together with their classmates to solve the problems and correctly match all of the egg pieces. You could also hide the eggs as two separate “broken” egg pieces if you have a larger space and a larger class.
Once the class has successfully matched all of the egg pieces, you can offer a reward or prize for their combined efforts.
Equivalent Fraction Easter Eggs
Another spin on the activity I just mentioned is equivalent fraction Easter eggs. This activity is great for small groups or teams within your class. Divide your students into small groups of 2-3 students and assign them a fraction in its simplest form. You’ll want to write fractions on the Easter eggs, making sure you have an equal amount of equivalent fractions (10 fractions that are equal to ½, 10 fractions that are equal to ¾, etc).
Teams will then start to search for the hidden eggs. Their task is to find only the eggs that are equivalent or equal to the fraction that you have assigned to them. You can write their fraction on their basket or bucket that they are using to gather eggs. The team that gathers or finds all of their eggs first wins. You can play by awarding points for each egg correctly found and deducting points for any eggs that were gathered that do not equal their fraction.
These are the perfect activities for inside or outside the classroom once the weather is nice. Your students will love the idea of getting up and moving around while hunting for Easter eggs. You’ll love the extra math practice your students will get without even realizing it!
If you’re looking for some egg-cellent science experiments and activities, be sure to check out some of my favorite Easter science investigations.
What fun activities have you done with Easter eggs? Share in the comments below!
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