2.
Use the orange (10) rod and what is left over to help complete the number sentence. 1 2 3 4 •Add to the pattern to change the staircase into a square with sides = to the length of an orange rod.
Choose one of each rod. Place the number 3 rod separately from the rest and ask the student to lay out two other rods that when placed end-to-end will be the same length as the number 3. Their thinking can be “seen”, in that thinking is expressed through the way they construct, recognize, and continue spatial patterns.
My friends know we put first-things-first, so when we pull out these number rods, I want to make sure we are using them as math tools, not as toys. •Fill in the teeth with white rods. Use the "number sandwich" if you need help. •Put them together to make lips. Look at the longer of the two rods on the top. •Smile! Choose two of the same rod. Visualising with Cuisenaire Although some teachers associate their use more with primary classrooms, Cuisenaire rods can be a powerful visualisation tool to help students of all ages solve problems about fractions, ratio and proportions. Think what needs to be added to it to match an orange (10) rod. Watching students work with Cuisenaire Rods gives you a sense of how they approach a mathematical problem. •Build a staircase.
With any math tool, we started with exploratory play. Cuisenaire Rods are wonderful tools for assessing students’ mathematical thinking. She will find that numbers 1 and 2 placed end-to-end -- in a “train,” to use Cuisenaire terminology -- will exactly match the length of the number 3. 1. Split the shorter rod into two so that one of the new rods matches an orange (10) rod when added to the longer rod.
Why do we play first? I introduced the cuisenaire rods by name, handed out a mat for using the rod (just 1 cm graph paper), and set the timer for 10 minutes.