Rice, Rice, RiceTask 88 ... Years 4 - 8SummarySet in a story shell, the challenge is to estimate grains of rice without actually counting their number. This is equivalent to the problems faced by many people in practical employment - for example a bricklayer estimating the number of bricks to order to clad a house. Such problems are often guided by 'rules of thumb'. In this task students are experimenting with possibilities so there is no right or wrong answer. However, asking the mathematician's question:
|
Materials
Content
|
IcebergA task is the tip of a learning iceberg. There is always more to a task than is recorded on the card. |
There are no right or wrong answers in this task. The focus is on the range of methods that could be used and the calculations associated with them. Students could:
Extensions
|
Whole Class InvestigationTasks 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. |
Prepare a sealed container with 500 grams or 1 kilogram of rice. You will also need a smaller amount of rice per group and a variety of measuring equipment. A vacuum cleaner might be a useful tool at the end of the lesson. Set the challenge for each group to devise two ways to estimate the number of grains of rice in your container and allow them time to do so. Record and discuss the variations across the class. Come to an agreement on the most likely result. Develop the extensions above. Also set related challenges such as:
At this stage Rice, Rice, Rice does not have a matching lesson on Maths300. |
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. |
Rice, Rice, Rice is not in any MWA kit. However it can be used to enrich the Chance & Measurement kit at Years 5/6. |