As part of our number this year we will be working to use a variety of concrete materials to support our learning and understanding of number and maths. This week we will be using these Cuisenaire rods.

To familiarise ourselves with them, we played a game of 21. In small groups we worked to add multiple rods together to make 21. Whoever made the number 21 was out of the game.

We started by using all the rods ( we numbered them 1 – 10) and gradually took away the larger rods to make the game more challenging. As we played we discussed a range of ways we could make the game more challenging. Here were some suggestions:

-ban the use of the rod that is number 1

-only use one of each rod for a game

-only use one value rod (only 3s) for each game

-increase the target number.

As we played this we worked to develop our ability to add multiple small numbers together, find the difference between the total and 21 and develop our problem solving strategies and tactics to win the game.

We will be continuing to use these and other resources throughout the year to support our learning and understanding.