Is it possible to build every number from 1 to 100? How would we do it? Which numbers are the hardest to make? Which number would need the most bricks?
Earlier this year, Year 2 investigated how we can represent numbers with Cuisenaire Rods. At first, children added huge rows of the white “1” bricks until, eventually, they lost count of how many they had. It was hard to know the difference between 42 and 43 – those numbers are so similar!
Eventually, we discovered that bunching numbers into 10s helped us to count more quickly and accurately. And, it turns out, our numbers are bunched into 10s when we write them. The number 42 has 4 tens (orange rods) and 2 ones (white bricks). Suddenly, it was easy to tell the difference between 42 and 43!
With this knowledge, we set about making an animation of the numbers to 100. Please enjoy our video – it’s a mini maths adventure!
Well done Year 2 for excellent collaborative maths. AND for keeping a positive attitude when we discovered missing numbers or muddled up counting – getting all the way to 100 wasn’t easy!
