Tasks & Kits
Return to Resource List Tasks for InfantsThe Task Centre Project has never formally developed tasks for infants. Its focus has been Years 2 - 10 because there is an implication of independent literacy requirements when using tasks as designed. Therefore the response to the question Are there tasks for infants? has multiple parts.
One school we visited many years ago, which had developed its own infant task set, used large poster size problem cards. The students could gather around them on the floor. They were hand written on coloured card and laminated. The storing process was clever too. The cards, with equipment bags attached, were pegged to coat hangers hung from a rolling home-laundry drying rack. Return to Resource List. Storing TasksSome schools store tasks in plastic cake-storer type boxes such as those above, or as shown in the Organisation Album in the Photographs index. Other have to be more 'portable' in the use of their tasks and prefer sturdy press-seal bags.
Return to Resource List. Refresh Your Task Centre
Ina Koetsier, Distribution Manager, provides a service which includes checking, repairing or replacing your tasks. Service fee is $137.50 per day (travel and accommodation where necessary) and parts are replaced at cost - most of them on the spot. Contact Ina through the Contacts link at the head of the page. 
Near the end of the year, Ina came to sort out our task centre. This is a job no-one wants to do and no-one has the time to do. She spent the day sorting, replacing missing bits, and cleaning with some chosen helpers - and she was so enthusiastic!
I cannot express my thanks for your help to restore our Problem Solving Task Centre. We are progressing. Not sure why everyone does not have these resources. Return to Resource List.
Tasks & Maths300Starting Maths300 & Tasks
Full Membership of Maths300 for the first year plus:
This is a discounted package offering 31 tasks for the price of 28. The kit contents are listed here. This package is an excellent way to begin constructing a Working Mathematically curriculum. The Maths300 lessons support teachers in modelling how a mathematician works. Each task is an invitation to the students to apply the model for themselves. Each task comes in a sturdy press-seal bag and contains a laminated problem solving card and enough equipment for two students to explore the problem. The package provides sufficient teacher support, hands-on problem solving, software and investigation sheets to nourish curriculum shift towards Working Mathematically across a range of curriculum strands. More tasks can be added to the collection later. There is a discount for Maths300 members who order 50 or more and quote their membership number. Price ... $946 Return to Resource List. Starting Maths300
Full Membership of Maths300 for the first year plus a CD-ROM with:
The CD-ROM can be used on any computer with a web browser and a CD-ROM drive, without going on line. Price INCLUDES a one year membership of the Maths300 site, so you will ALSO be issued with a Username and Password. Starting Maths300 allows you to begin including Maths300 in your curriculum without any on-line issues. When you are comfortable with the material the username/password allows immediate access to all the other lessons. Price ... $533.50 Additional copies of the CD-ROM ... $38.50 Return to Resource List.
Other ResourcesPoly PlugPoly Plug is two 5x5 grids of foam plugs, one of which is red, and one of which is twice as thick but yellow on one side and blue on the other. It is an extremely flexible learning aid because it is both unstructured when the plugs are removed and used as counters, and structured when held in arrangements defined by the grid ... or parts of it ... or multiples of it. The material is 'classroom savvy' in that:
It can be used to turn many of the tasks into whole class investigations. It also has many other uses such as exploring the array visualisation of multiplication, concepts of fractions and ratio, creating equations and illustrating the difference between two squares. Please visit our Poly Plug page. Return to Resource List. Sphinx ShapesSphinx, Task 166, has proved to be a wonderful example of the guiding principles of the project. There is considerable information about it in our Sphinx Album, and it is also the basis of Maths300 Lesson 25 and Maths300 Lesson 99.To get the most from this task a teacher needs multiple copies of the Sphinx shape. At either link a mechanism for printing these is provided. We also know that some enterprising teachers have had students make their own in conjunction with the Design & Technology teacher. However, the Sphinx shape is available in sturdy, colourful plastic at a very reasonable cost.
Return to Resource List. TrisquaresTrisquares are used in Tasks 237 & 238. They offer possibilities similar to Sphinx using a square as the core unit, rather than an equilateral triangle. Many applications across primary and secondary school including:
Return to Resource List. TricubesTricubes have been used in several tasks for many years, eg: Tricubes (#69), Tricube Constructions A (#77), Surface Area With Tricubes (#193). They are also used in Maths300 Lesson 165. These unique, sturdy, 3D foam pieces are now available in class sets. They have many applications. For example:
Return to Resource List. Pyramid PuzzlePyramid Puzzle, Task 101, has a depth of algebra and mathematical history that takes it far beyond the initial 3D spatial puzzle. There is considerable information about it in its Task Cameo, and the puzzle is also the basis of Maths300 Lesson 138. Use a class set of this puzzle to activate the whole class lesson life of the task. These puzzles are available in sturdy, colourful plastic at a very reasonable cost.
Return to Resource List. Pentagon TrianglesPentagon Triangles, Task 81, involves a multitude of work in space, measurement and number patterns which has become the basis of Maths300 Lesson 134. Teachers could make cardboard Pentagon Triangles by cutting a regular pentagon into isosceles triangles along its diagonals. But if you don't want that work, and you do want something more permanent and attractive for your whole class investigation then these colourful foam pieces are the way to go.
Return to Resource List. 3d Geoshapes3d Geoshapes, are click together plastic pieces in a range of shapes. The joining sides make a hinge which allows folding into three dimensions. Although the plastic they are made from is thin, it is incredibly strong. The shapes are frames, not solid surfaces, so construction of 3D objects is easier because fingers can get in, out, around and through. This material opens up a world of hands-on exploration K - 12 and is particularly useful in the task centre context.The shapes resource several of our tasks, such as Cube Nets, Tetrahedron Nets or Pointy Fences, and to activate their whole class investigation life you will need a class set of the materials. For example, as a whole class investigation, Cube Nets, Task 31 (and Maths300 Lesson 116) is an excellent way to illustrate what it means to work like a mathematician. In addition the lesson offers several learning features which encourage us to reflect on better choices for teaching and learning.
Return to Resource List. Professor Morris Puzzles50 Poster Puzzles suitable for Years 2 - 8. Each is designed to be the focus of a Poster Problem Clinic. They are presented by a unique CAR-toon character and all text is in rhyme. This approach is consistent with Gardner's Multiple Intelligences research.The Teacher's Notes connect each puzzle to tasks from the Task Centre collection and, importantly, list many Start Talking questions to extend each puzzle. To explore the educational features see Poster Problem Clinic and Lesson 14, Maths300, The Farmer's Puzzle which is built around Professor Morris Puzzle 49 and its extensions.
Return to Resource List. Matt's Maths MatPhysical involvement (kinaesthetic learning) is a key component in playing out the whole class investigation 'life' of many tasks. One of the aids that can be used to challenge students in this way is a large plastic mat with cells big enough for a student to sit inside. Until now teachers have had to make their own, or have had such a grid painted in the playground. That is no longer necessary.Matt Skoss, experienced task centre teacher and consultant, has found a way to mass produce these mats. There are many learning opportunities that develop when you have one of these mats. These links will start you thinking.
Return to Resource List. Matt's mini-WhiteboardThese have been a hit with several classes in the Red Centre.What is also generating interest are the mini-Whiteboards I tote around with me. Using whiteboard markers kids record their data, then walk up to a whiteboard to contribute to the 'community data'. I was stunned with the reaction of the teachers. This stuff is on 6mm plywood, rather than the 20mm plywood A3-size whiteboards in some schools (...which could be classified as a weapon!).
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