TEACHER WORKSHOP ACTIVITY - TRAINS

MATERIALS

• Unifix cubes
• Approx 10-12 plastic/al-foil take-away and/or similar containers for each student group (for storing blocks sorted by colour)

TRAINS ACTIVITY PART 1:

Kindy students 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: Teachers should view the exammple teaching video and related teaching resources.

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

Video 1. TRAINS - Kindy and cubes - The Development of Mathematical Thinking

Video 2. TRAINS - Kindy's First Lesson - Getting Started

Video 3. TRAINS - Year 2's First Lesson - The Development of Mathematical Thinking

TRAINS ACTIVITY (Stage One):

• Trains (Second Grade) 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.
• Towers (Fourth Grade) Students try to find out how many different towers four blocks high they can build by selecting from blocks of two colours.

Cuisenaire® Rods are used in the kindergarten and second-grade activities. The traditional set of rods that students use is designed in 1cm increments, starting with white as 1cm. If possible, use rods that are proportionally larger than the traditional set of rods (easier to differentiate relative sizes.

• 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.

The children construct trains to aid them in finding solutions to the given problems.

PROBLEM:

1. How many different ways can we make dark green? (Kindergarten)
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?