Cuisenaire Rods - A Guide to Teaching Strategies, Activities, and Ideas

This Learning About®… Cuisenaire® Rods Activity Guide provides hands on activities and ideas for leading students in an active exploration of the world of mathematics. The activities involve students in the process of exploring and investigating abstract math concepts through the use of manipulatives. Students are encouraged to think critically, plan strategies, and share conclusions.

The activities, described in detail, have proven successful in presenting and developing mathematical concepts at a wide variety of grade levels. The information included suggests ways both to deal with classroom organization and to introduce, investigate, and summarize the mathematics involved. These activities explore—

• whole numbers

• symmetry

• arithmetic operations

• congruence

• fractions

• three-dimensional geometry

• measurement

• patterns and functions

• ratio and proportion