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All downloaded and can't wait to get stuck into them. Emily Ulrich, Program Manager of the Hedland Maths & Science Centre of Excellence co-managed by the Graham Polly Farmer Foundation Obviously Hedland is enthusiastic about creating their Task Library. Torquay College and Wodonga South Primary School have also started in the past month. You can get 'stuck into' eTasks too - right now - with Truth Tiles 2, suitable for Year 2 - 10. You only need one copy to use with a pair of students. Save the PDF from Link List below. Print it on card (coloured if you can) and laminate. Find 5 square tiles (or blocks) and number them as shown. Package. You're done.

Now it's time to know something about the investigation yourself - or perhaps not if you enjoy taking mathematical adventures with your kids. So, whenever you're ready, take time to explore the Task Cameo for Truth Tiles 2. See Link List below. It includes a link to a Cube Tube video report from a pair of upper primary students. It's worth a look.

If you want to use this task in its whole class investigation life, print more (perhaps on paper this time) and make more tile sets. Or project the task card. Also it's easy to ask each pair to tear one piece of paper into 8 - five pieces for the digits, and one each for + , - and =. Find other thoughts about the whole class investigation approach in the cameo.

There are another 240 tasks like this in the eTask Package. See Link List below.

Vis Chetty and his Year 8 students at Living Waters Lutheran College have contributed a unique video to Cube Tube. It's titled Does This Solve 'A Stacking Problem'?. See Link List below. They want the viewer to decide whether the moves in the video are a solution to the problem. Once your students have been introduced to the problem (see Get To Know A Cameo and Link List below), critically analysing someone else working through it is a great way to review the conditions of the challenge.

Picture Puzzles can now be purchased either menu by menu or by 'membership' - an access code to receive all current and future menus. Currently there are 7 menus containing 36 Picture Puzzles - 5 or 6 per menu. Menus are $66 each or an access code is $330. The menus are summarised here. See Link List below for more information.

Concept Learning & Skill Development

Number & Computation A

Years 2 - 6(8)
Based on an array model of multiplication students experience how to know the answers to their times tables. Uncover Counting is used to reveal the 6 - 10 times tables.

Years 2 - 6(8)
Students choose their own time limit to complete 20 Times Tables Torture questions. Using array images they correct their work and find two ways of knowing each table.

Years 2 - 8
Students build Rod Mats and explore relationships between rows of rods the same size. Natural language drives the investigation of fraction equivalence and operations.

Pattern & Algebra A

Years 4 - 12
Square and Triangle Numbers leading into generalisation, symbolic notation and other special challenges, including the difference between two squares.

Years 4 - 10
Exploring and generalising patterns in words and symbols. Seeing the patterns from different points of view leads to equivalent algebraic expressions. Substitution and solution.

Years 2 - 10
Development of the concepts of perimeter and area using unit squares and unit triangles as the measures. Includes 2D shape puzzles, tessellation and polyiamonds.

Years 2 - 11
Representing 3D objects in 2D. Plan (looking down), elevation (side) and isometric views in the context of 3D puzzles.

This Prep child at St. Bede's Primary School has just turned six. Recently during a play session she bounced up to the adults in the room and with a big, confident smile and announced:

I know what 3 fours are. What are they? Twelve Wow. Yes. Do you want to know how I found out? Sure. This block taught me.

Many thanks to the teacher who was able to recover from the surprise quickly enough to grab the camera and record this 'aha' moment. Find out more about 'aha' moments in Calculating Changes. See Link List below.

The other side of this block has joining lugs that correspond to the holes in the photo. But the lugs are not arranged as 3 fours. So something else also equals twelve.

Task 64, Difference Between Two Squares

This task is a wonderful piece of spatial algebra which leads to the well known rule for calculating the difference between two squares. The geometry leads to a generalisation which can be written in symbols to show that it works for all numbers. Either the visual image of moving the pieces or the algebraic rule can then be used to simplify some calculations. The cameo links the task to two other tasks which include the same content and to Square Numbers, a Free Tour Picture Puzzle, which extends into finding the difference between two squares in this same way.

In the eTask Package this task is grouped with those in the Special category. If you want an attractive, hard-wearing set of equipment for the task then the pieces need to be carefully cut. Dimensions and a template are supplied.

Task 149, A Stacking Problem

There are 6 cartons and three stacking places. At the moment the cartons are all on Place A and in sequence from top down 1 through to 6. Can they be moved so that there are an equal number of cartons on each place and the counting sequence is from left to right? Move only one carton at a time and never place a higher numbered block on top of a lower numbered block. Pretty easy to state and start, but certainly a challenge. The cameo includes an Investigation Guide to support student reasoning and a link to the new video mentioned above. In the eTask Package this task is grouped with those easy to make. It only needs 6 numbered blocks.