Make A Snake

Task 5 ... Years 4 - 10

Summary

Students recreate the pattern of coloured rings on the body of Mungo the Maths Snake by threading coloured beads onto a string in a defined order. Mungo is born with only one colour ring (Colour A), but each season she sheds her skin and replaces Colour A with an ABA pattern. 		 

Materials

  • Beads in 2 colours and a length of string

Content

  • making and recording patterns
  • counting and recording numbers
  • looking for patterns
  • making predictions and generalisations
  • powers of 2
  • symbolic representation
  • graphical representation of algebraic relationships
Make A Snake

Iceberg

A task is the tip of a learning iceberg. There is always more to a task than is recorded on the card. 		   

  • If I tell you any number of seasons can you tell me the pattern on Mungo's body?
  • If I tell you the pattern on Mungo's body, can you tell me Mungo's age in seasons?
  • What happens if we change the rule governing Mungo's colour changes?

Whole Class Investigation

Tasks are an invitation for two students to work like a mathematician. Tasks can also be modified to become whole class investigations which model how a mathematician works. 		   

Each pair (or group of four) needs two colours of counters, beads or blocks. Since the problem refers to colours A and B it doesn't matter whether groups have the same colours. If you have Poly Plug the yellow/blue plugs are perfect, especially when plugged into the red board to make Mungo season by season (row by row).

Start off the problem with a demonstration at a central space, and ask students to go on building 'seasons of Mungo'. Encourage recording the number of each colour per season and looking for a way of predicting the number of each colour for the next season.

At this stage, Make A Snake does not have a matching lesson on Maths300.

Visit Make A Snake on Poly Plug & Tasks.

Is it in Maths With Attitude?

Maths With Attitude is a set of hands-on learning kits available from Years 3-10 which structure the use of tasks and whole class investigations into a week by week planner. 		   

The Make A Snake task is an integral part of:

  • MWA Pattern & Algebra Years 3 & 4
  • MWA Number & Computation Years 9 & 10
This task is also included in the Task Centre Kit for Aboriginal Students.

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Follow this link to Task Centre Home page.