I also give each student a work pack of activities we'll be using with the hearts. Please see attached sheets. The first activity page asks the students to predict the number of hearts inside the box. Before writing their guess, I give them examples of the number of hearts it takes to fill different objects. I have different size plastic jars and we compare the size of the jars to their box.
Students make changes to their guess after each container.
This is important for first grade because they have difficulty predicting a number. It also allows me to evaluate who has a strong number sense. After writing their final prediction we actually count the hearts in their box. I also tell them to count by 2's, 5's and 10's to make sure they get the same number each time. This is a great counting method, since there are always left over candies that they must add-on to the grouped piles.