As the students would say, “rods, rods, rods!” Initially, students commented about the colours of the rods and how there are many colours like the colours in a rainbow. Then, they learned that each rod has a value and when you place the rods in numerical order from 1 to 10, it forms a “staircase”. Fascinating! Students enjoyed playing with cuisenaire rods to find different ways of building numbers up to 10. For example, students learned that 7 is not just 7; 3 and 4 more equals 7 or 5 and 1 and 1 more equal 7.
For more information about cuisenaire rods, please visit: https://www.hand2mind.com/glossary-of-hands-on-manipulatives/cuisenaire-rods
