How Many Hearts Are in the Jar?

This is a classic raffle activity, but also requires critical thinking and an understanding of volume and measurement. Mrs. Tilley filled a jar with candy hearts and challenged her students to guess how many are in the jar. Fill your own container(s) with candy hearts or heart-shaped beads. First, have students guess how many hearts are in the jar. Then in groups, allow students time to devise a plan on how to most accurately determine how many hearts are inside the jar. Once they have devised a plan, have them try it out and as a class, determine which group came closest to accurately finding how many hearts filled the jar. Some students may choose to measure the hearts and the jar, some may choose to weigh the hearts and the jar, or something totally different! Compare guesses before measurements to after. Which was closer?