Task 1
Staircases
Compare and describe rod lengths without assigning number values.
Start with the staircase
Use one of each colour to build a staircase. Move up and down it, naming the colours.
Ask questions such as:
- Which rod is shortest? Which is longest?
- Which rod comes just before or after yellow?
- Which rod is longer than pink but shorter than dark green?
- Name all rods shorter than blue but longer than yellow.
Your turn — Question hunt
With a partner, write as many questions as you can about the staircase without assigning number values to the rods.
Try to include questions involving:
- shorter / longer
- before / after
- between
- shortest / longest
- more than one possible answer
- exactly one possible answer
Choose two questions and annotate the mathematics on your Show Me board using colour names or letters where appropriate.
Feedback / teacher prompts
- Which questions did you choose, and why?
- What mathematical relationships are pupils attending to?
What could you change?
If pupils could answer these confidently, how could you vary the staircase or the questions while keeping the same mathematical idea?
Possibilities include omitting rods, reversing the orientation, using a staircase with a different common difference, or changing the constraints on the questions.
Rehearse the teaching
For a task worth practising, work in pairs. One person teaches while the other responds as a pupil using the rods. Model enough to get the pupil started, then stop explaining and question their thinking. Swap roles.
Reflect: What was harder to explain than you expected? Which wording or question worked well?