Students work in groups to solve problems that involve organizing information in a table and looking for a pattern. Using objects or pictures, children make models and organize the information in a table. They discuss whether they have looked at all of the possibilities systematically and describe in words the patterns they have found. Use concrete and pictorial models to explore the basic concept of a function. Students use buttons with two or four holes and describe how the total number of holes is related to the number of buttons.
Students use multilink cubes or base ten blocks to build rectangular solids.
They count how many cubes tall their structure is, how many cubes long it is, and how many cubeswide it is. Then they count the total number of cubes in their structure. They record all of this information in a table and look for patterns. Students take turns putting numbers into Max the Magic Math Machine , reading what comes out, and finding the rule that tells what Max is doing to each number. A student acts as Max each time.