Cuisenaire Rod Patterns

We created and calculated, calculated and played.

At first glance this looks nothing like math, but upon further examination it's evident that this is math at it's best.

The goal was only to make interesting designs and patterns using cuisenaire rods. The kids were free to experiment.

Cuisenaire rods are measured in 1 cm lengths.
white - 1 cm
red - 2 cm
green - 3 cm
purple - 4 cm
yellow - 5 cm
blue-green - 6 cm
black - 7 cm
brown - 8 cm
blue - 9 cm
orange - 10 cm

Math from the above photo: symmetry, 1+9=10, 10-1-1-1-1=6, 1+5=6, 2x4=8, 2x3=6
There's actually lots more and many of the above calculations were done mentally while the figure was being created. The same is true of the following figures.

This one clearly shows that 6-4=2, 2+4=6.

Lots of counting by threes is visible in this design.

Creating patterns frequently with cuisenaire rods is an excellent activity for building number sense and mental math skills.



Check out these great blogs full of educational activity ideas.