The activities cover the majority of outcomes from the national numeracy strategy, and although many are aimed at years 5 and 6, most can be adapted easily to suit the lower age group in KS2.
The activities on this page can be carried out as a whole-class activity, with pupils working individually, or in small groups, on a particular task. Or, to ensure differentiation, pupils can work in ability groups and then report back and present their findings to the rest of the class. Perhaps before you begin any mathematics, you can get the children to make a sketch of a can (Andy Warhol-style) - this usually results in some impressive art work.
Activity 1: the can
The can itself provides a wealth of interesting information. For instance, when is the sell-by date? how long to go before the can is out of date?
Say a 200g can contains 150 calories. An average child, aged 7-10, is supposed to need approximately 2,000 calories a day, so how many cans would they need to eat to use up their total daily intake? Each 200g can also contains 4.7g of protein, so how much protein would a child get if he/she ate a can every day for a week? See keepkidshealthy.com for more nutritional information online.
Compare different commercial brands with supermarket brands. Clearly, a 220g can costing 18p represents better value than a 220g can priced at 21p, although of course it depends on the taste! In my supermarket, some of the can sizes differ from those used by the better known brands. Lots of work can be done on the concept of "difference" by comparing the amounts in grams of, for example, fat, protein, sodium (salt), fibre, etc, between brands.
Find the surface area of the can. What is the area of the paper needed to make the label? What is the diameter, and what is the capacity of each of the cans at their various sizes/weights? (Capacity = area of base x height.)
Activity 2: cost of cans
How many cans could you buy for...? (see table 1 of Pupils' resource)
How much would it cost to eat a meal of baked beans for the class? If each pupil ate a portion of 200g, what would be the total weight of the beans eaten?
Activity 3: bean counting
Weigh a 200g can both unopened and empty to find the approximate weight of the can. Open a 200g can and count the total number of individual beans . Extrapolate to fill in table 2 of Pupils' resource:
How many beans will 1p buy? How many beans do you get for each gram?
Ask pupils to open cans of different sizes/weights and count the number of beans in each can. By dividing the number of beans by the cost of the can, pupils can work out how many beans 1p would buy and, therefore, which sized can gives the best value. Similarly, by dividing the number of beans by the number of grams, they can work out how many beans there are in each gram. (See table 3 of Pupils' resource.)
Activity 4: eating beans
Ask the class to find out how many cans their family buys each week, and which is the most popular size/weight. So, how many grams of beans does each family consume each week/each year? How much does this cost? What is the average number of cans that each family consumes each week? And what is the average price that each family spends each week on baked beans?
Activity 5: packing and stacking
Using a triangular number pattern, investigate how many cans of baked beans you need to make a stack 10 rows high. (See table 4 of pupils' resource.)
On the shelf
How many cans of baked beans can you fit on a 1 metre shelf? Get the children to measure the diameter of a can and work out how many of these would fit into 1m or 100cm. Pupils can then make a scale drawing using a scale where 1cm represents 10cm.
Storing the cans
Which is the most efficient way of stacking the cans in a box? How many cans can you get into a shoe box, or on a prescribed surface area, say of an A4 sheet of paper? This leads to investigating tessellating patterns with circles.
Design your own label
Baked beans are made by a number of different companies and each comes with its own label. Some labels are better than others in the sense that they are more visually pleasing and attract more customers, or provide more information. Can you design your own label? What will you call your product?
Making your own box
Design and make a box/carton to hold one can, four cans, eight cans, etc. Get the pupils to draw out the net, and work out the number of flaps they need to include. They can then decorate the box.