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Task Cameos

Mathematics Task Centre Project Logo The task Eric The Sheep asks only one question.
What happens if there are 50 sheep in front of Eric?
The question is most often answered with the concrete materials provided. That may be all there is on the card, but this class poster shows there is a lot more to discover. The card is the tip of the iceberg. Read more of Eric's iceberg below in its Task Cameo.
Eric the Sheep Task
A class exploration of Task 45, Eric the Sheep.
Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

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This section of our site offers information to guide you into the iceberg of each task. Task Cameos are your starting point. Link to them from the electronic version of your school curriculum document or print them to create dossiers.

The knowledge and experience collected here will encourage and support teachers and students to make better use of your task resource.

  • Print this Cover Page to help you organise your dossier collection.
  • Print this Tasks & Maths300 list...
    to see all tasks with a companion Maths300 lesson.
    Excel version provided by Pymble Ladies' College
  • Print this Task Catalogue...
    ...to see at a glance the curriculum strand(s) involved in each task and the range of year levels (2 - 10) at which it can be used. Remember, tasks can often be adapted to work for infants or senior secondary students.
Tip of an iceberg

Special Cameos

From The Classroom sections have been added to:
  • Task 2, Cars In A Garage
  • Task 3, Doug's Tablecloth
  • Task 6, Counter Escape
  • Task 9, Row Points
  • Task 11, Lining Up
  • Task 13, The Frog Pond
  • Task 14, Heads & Legs
  • Task 17, Truth Tiles 2
  • Task 18, Same Or Different
  • Task 26, Travelling Australia
  • Task 30, Truth Tiles 1
  • Task 31, Cube Nets
  • Task 35, Crosses
  • Task 37, Fraction Magic Square
  • Task 43, Number Tiles
  • Task 45, Eric The Sheep
  • Task 53, Have A Hexagon
  • Task 63, Fried Rice
  • Task 79, Tangram Teasers
  • Task 84, Rectangle Nightmare
  • Task 86, Thirty-One
  • Task 95, Reflections
  • Task 96, Networks
  • Task 101, Pyramid Puzzle
  • Task 103, Four Cube Houses
  • Task 104, Building Views
  • Task 111, Square Numbers
  • Task 119, Police Line Up
  • Task 132, Red To Blue
  • Task 133, Win At The Fair
  • Task 139, Squound
  • Task 142, Tower Of Hanoi
  • Task 149, A Stacking Problem
  • Task 154, 4 Arm Shapes
  • Task 159, Mirror Patterns 2
  • Task 160, Painted Cubes
  • Task 176, Steps
  • Task 178, Match Triangles
  • Task 180, Making Monuments
  • Task 182, Jumping Kangaroos
  • Task 188, Arithmagons 1
  • Task 199, Making Fractions 3
  • Task 211, Soft Drink Crates
  • Task 212, Monkeys & Bananas
  • Task 236, Star Numbers
  • Task 237, Trisquares
  • Task 238, Growing Trisquares

Sample Investigation Guides have been added to:
  • Task 3, Doug's Tablecloth
  • Task 10, Find My Pattern
  • Task 13, The Frog Pond
  • Task 19, Cookie Count
  • Task 28, Plate Triangles
  • Task 33, Dominoes
  • Task 54, Fay's Nines
  • Task 59, 13 Away (2 guides)
  • Task 109, Number Game
  • Task 112, Coloured Squares (2 guides)
  • Task 117, 12 Counters
  • Task 121, Farmyard Views
  • Task 127, Highest Number 1
  • Task 142, Tower of Hanoi (in the form of software)
  • Task 149, A Stacking Problem
  • Task 157, Paving Views
  • Task 159, Mirror Patterns 2
  • Task 169, Wallpaper Patterns
  • Task 171, Number Discs
  • Task 173, Crossing The River 1
  • Task 178, Match Triangles
  • Task 182, Jumping Kangaroos
  • Task 187, Area Of A Triangle
  • Task 195, Stop At 4
  • Task 212, Monkeys & Bananas
  • Task 235, Tables For 25
  • Task 241, Sicherman Dice

A sample Maths300 lesson plan has been added to:
  • Task 8, Addition Totals

Other Iceberg Sources

All that is known about the iceberg of any task has come from classrooms and it is from classrooms that we will continue to learn more about them. When you explore a new direction with your class, please tell us about it. See Contacts.

In addition to the cameos in the list on the right, more information about some tasks is supplied through:

  • Maths Around the Kitchen Table
    This link provides a list of tasks suggested as a starting point for involving parents in problem solving 'around the kitchen table'. Solutions (but not much iceberg information) is provided, so that families may access additional information about the suggested investigations from home.
  • Poly Plug & Tasks
    This link explores tasks which can be converted to whole class investigations using Poly Plug.
  • Sphinx Album
    Task 166 is explored in incredible depth as a model for what is possible with all other tasks.
  • Maths300
    The richest additional source of iceberg information is the Maths300 site. This site provides extensive lesson plans, sometimes including software, to help teachers model the work of a mathematician. About half of these lessons are based on the iceberg of tasks. Those links are included in the Cameos where they exist.

    When exploring Cameos, consider having this page open in one browser tab and Maths300 open in another so you can easily move between the two.

    Visit Maths300 at: http://www.maths300.com

    Reviews of Maths300

  • Task Dossiers
    Task dossiers support teachers. Originally each school developed their own version (an example is included below), however, it has now become more efficient and effective to share with colleagues through Task Cameos. Printing and binding these, or simply directly accessing Cameos from the web, is equivalent to making dossiers.

Please visit again. There is much to learn from this library; so much that our regular eNews often features a Cameo of the Month to encourage you to keep adding to the breadth and depth of your knowledge. Also, please contribute task-related stories and Investigation Guides as they unfold in your classroom.

Task Cameo Library

Use the Task Library to see photos of every task and click a photo to find its Task Cameo.

Build your own Task Library using our eTasks and your equipment.

  • Tasks below marked * indicate the task has a matching lesson on Maths300.
  • Tasks below marked ** indicate the matching lesson also has software support.

Use the Task Cameo Content Finder to:

  • find tasks by content, or
  • find the content in a particular task.
Keep up to date with news about cameos and all our work by subscribing to our regular eNews.

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More from the Mathematics Task Centre