Miss Norledge's Storeroom
  • Home
  • Resources by Topic
    • Number and Proportion
    • Algebra
    • Shape
  • Blog
    • Summer Blog Challenge
    • Staffrm 29 Days of Writing (2016)
    • Maths with Zoombinis
  • My resources
    • Downloads >
      • Mix Match
      • Rally Coach
      • Pass the Problem
    • Request a password
  • Links
    • Teaching blogs and resources
    • Web tools and apps
    • Exams and assessment
  • Privacy Policy
  • Home
  • Resources by Topic
    • Number and Proportion
    • Algebra
    • Shape
  • Blog
    • Summer Blog Challenge
    • Staffrm 29 Days of Writing (2016)
    • Maths with Zoombinis
  • My resources
    • Downloads >
      • Mix Match
      • Rally Coach
      • Pass the Problem
    • Request a password
  • Links
    • Teaching blogs and resources
    • Web tools and apps
    • Exams and assessment
  • Privacy Policy

             

  

Cuisenaire rods for algebraic expressions

16/2/2016

 
Picture
I've spent quite a bit of time so far over half term working on the resource areas of my site - one topic I was keen to get a few more resources for was writing algebraic expressions and using correct algebraic notation, as I'm teaching this to Year 7 after half term and my collection was looking a little sparse. 

Today I'd also found a link to the Cuisenaire Rods manipulative on the NRich site, which is absolutely fantastic. I remember discovering a dusty old box of rods in the resource cupboard during my NQT year, digging them out and then not really doing anything relevant with them because I didn't have a) the time or b) the experience to work out how to use them without just confusing the pupils more. I'd always been determined to go back and check them out properly though, particularly with the links to the work I've been doing with algebra tiles. ​
Obviously the first thing you can do with them is just use them to illustrate multiplication as repeated addition and get pupils to have a play around writing expressions for these:
Picture
While making these examples, I realised how easy it is to accidentally create equations - from this picture, we have 2y = 5r and a visual link to y = 2½r. Similarly, there's 2g = 3r, giving g = 1½r. Depending on how comfortable pupils are with fractions and inverse operations, you could delve even further into writing r in terms of y and g - but that's a blog for another day, I think!
Stacking the blocks one under the other clearly links repeated addition, multiplication and area:
Picture
This can then develop easily to multi-rod (variable) expressions:
Picture
I've deliberately picked sets of rods that are 10 long, and I'd envisage that a further discussion about the equations we could make would happen in a classroom situation. Off the top of my head, you can spot 3r = 2g, p = 2r, 2y = o and then other relationships by picking fractions of one amount or another.

Unfortunately, without delving further into work on equations, you can't really represent subtraction or division. Despite this, I think using the rods might be a great way into a topic that pupils find really difficult - I'd probably have a play with these for a couple of lessons before moving on to algebra tiles and introducing squares.

Also unfortunately, I am no longer at the school with the dusty box of Cuisenaire rods in the stock cupboard, and as far as I know we don't have any kicking around anywhere at my current place, so I'll be playing with the manipulative only. However, I am pretty tempted by this funky set of fridge magnets on Amazon...!

EDIT: I've now written a resource to test out when I get back to school; I'm probably going to leave the second slide to start with, as I don't want to muddy the waters by teaching equations and expressions at the same time. 

(Image credit: By Celcom, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9511548)

Simon Gregg link
18/2/2016 21:26:30

I love that: "I remember discovering a dusty old box of rods in the resource cupboard during my NQT year, digging them out and then not really doing anything relevant with them because I didn't have a) the time or b) the experience to work out how to use them without just confusing the pupils more." I think that must be a lot of people's experience. And, even more, I like, " I'd always been determined to go back and check them out properly though" - which probably most people don't get to.

It's taken me a long time to realise their potential in Primary. And in fact, in primary, even in Year 4 and before, children find writing these kind of equations quite easy. For example, with one of my Y4 classes:

http://y4ist.blogspot.fr/2015/06/cuisenaire-rod-equations.html

Claire
17/1/2020 22:44:03

It's not at all difficult to show subtraction with c-rods. Just place two different rods side by side. What's the difference?


Comments are closed.

    Categories

    All
    #29daysofwriting
    A Level
    Algebra
    Algebra Tiles
    Area
    Assessment
    Bar Model
    Bar Modelling
    Books
    Celebration Of Maths 2015
    Challenge
    Circles
    CPD
    Cuisenaire Rods
    Data
    Decimals
    Displays
    Enrichment
    Equations
    Events
    Feedback
    Formulae
    Four Operations
    Fractions
    Functional Maths
    Gcse 2015
    GCSE Past Papers
    GCSE Revision
    Graphs
    Group Work
    HCF And LCM
    History Of Maths
    Intervention
    Investigation
    Lesson
    Lesson Ideas
    Literacy
    Lotw
    Loving Maths
    Manipulatives
    Marking
    Mastery
    #mathsconf
    #mathsconf2015
    #mathsconf4
    Maths In Pictures
    Multiplication
    Musings
    Negative Numbers
    News
    Numeracy Across Curriculum
    Parenthood
    Percentages
    Pick Of Twitter
    Pie Charts
    Primes
    Probability
    Problem Solving
    Proportion Problems
    Puzzles
    Pythagoras
    Quadratics
    Quadratic Sequences
    Ratio Tables
    Real Life Graphs
    Reflection
    Resources
    Revision
    Rounding
    Schemes Of Work
    Simultaneous Equations
    Square Numbers
    Stationery
    #summerblogchallenge
    #teacher5adaysketch
    Teaching And Learning
    Technology
    Top Ten
    Trignometry
    Trigonometry
    Vectors
    Venn Diagrams
    Websites
    Weebly Tutorials
    Zoombinis


    Archives

    August 2020
    September 2018
    August 2018
    October 2017
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.