The activities in this feature all make use of Cuisenaire rods, which are blocks coloured according to their length. We hope you enjoy being playful with the rods as they help you uncover and connect some important mathematical ideas. Don't worry if you haven't got any rods of your own as you could use our interactive Cuisenaire environment.
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Cuisenaire Counting
Here are some rods that are different colours. How could I make a yellow rod using white and red rods?
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Same Length Trains
How many trains can you make which are the same length as Matt's and Katie's, using rods that are identical?
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Rod Fractions
Pick two rods of different colours. Given an unlimited supply of rods of each of the two colours, how can we work out what fraction the shorter rod is of the longer one?
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Cuisenaire Squares
These squares have been made from Cuisenaire rods. Can you describe the pattern? What would the next square look like?
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Rod Ratios
Use the Cuisenaire rods environment to investigate ratio. Can you find pairs of rods in the ratio 3:2?
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Pairs of Numbers
If you have ten counters numbered 1 to 10, how many can you put into pairs that add to 10? Which ones do you have to leave out? Why?
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Eggs in Baskets
There are three baskets, a brown one, a red one and a pink one, holding a total of 10 eggs. How many eggs are in each basket?
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Sealed Solution
Ten cards are put into five envelopes so that there are two cards in each envelope. The sum of the numbers inside it is written on each envelope. What numbers could be inside the envelopes?
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Finding Fifteen
Tim had nine cards each with a different number from 1 to 9 on it. How could he have put them into three piles so that the total in each pile was 15?