STUDENT CLASSROOM ACTIVITY - TRAINS

TRAINS ACTIVITY PART 1:

Kindergarteners sort Unifix cubes in various ways, focusing on the properties of the objects' similarities and differences. By creating patterns, children develop an early understanding of geometry.

Teachers should view the example teaching video and, optionally related teaching resources.

Invite students to |explore Unifix Cubes and/or other materials:

1. Kindy investigate Unifix cubes (materials, sorting, patterns and working together)
2. Build trains using Unifix cubes

TRAINS ACTIVITY PART 2:

Using Cuisenaire rods, students arrange shorter rods end-to-end to match the length of a given longer rod.

• Students try to find all possible ways to arrange shorter rods end-to-end to match the length of a given rod. They count the number of possibilities and compare results.

Cuisenaire® Rods are used in Kindy, Stage1 and (optionally) later TRAINS activities.

• There are 10 rods in each set.
• Each rod has a permanent colour name but has deliberately not been given a permanent number name. For example, the length of the dark green rod might be called 'four' in one activity and 'one' in another.
• “Trains” can be constructed by placing rods together.
• Trains may be multiples of the same rod,or a mix of different rods.

PROBLEM:

1. How many different ways can we make dark green?
2. What are all the different ways that we can make a train equal to the length of one magenta rod? (note: Cuisenaire® refers to this rod as 'purple').

An extension problem:

1. Can you work out how to find the answer to a similar question for a rod of any length?