Taking The Train Years K - 1

Summary The train provides a context for creating number stories about 'plug people'. The number stories can be explained orally, recorded on paper or with photographs and represented on a calculator. Suitable for threading. Materials Taking The Train sheet - one per child or pair. This is a reproducible form of the train in the picture. One calculator for each child One Poly Plug for each child Procedure

This activity is an example of a device for encouraging children to create their own number stories. Other situations which provide similar opportunities are: Children waiting for a bus which arrives with other children already aboard. Children waiting in a queue and more children arriving; this could also include children in the queue leaving because they are tired of waiting. Frogs in a pond; some frogs might jump out and others might jump in. Task 13, The Frog Pond, has more information about this situation. Consider introducing the activity in large scale, involving the whole class in acting out the story. The group discussion and 'public' presentation of ideas for recording the number stories will add meaning when the children work on the activity in pairs, or individually. Alternatively, use a Taking The Train sheet and introduce the activity to the children in a 'fishbowl' situation using your Poly Plug. The train has arrived at the platform. There are some children on the train and they can stay on for another ride if they want to. There are other children waiting to get on. Use your Poly Plug to be any number of pretend children. Some classes use the activity at tables of four. Each child is a station and the train is 'chuffed' from child to child.

Content addition facts beyond 10 addition facts to 10 complementary addition counting equations: creating/solving mathematical conversation numeral recognition recording - calculator recording - written sorting & classifying subtraction visual and kinaesthetic representation of number writing numerals

Variations

• Use a set (or partial set) of face down dominoes in the middle of the table as 'tickets'. On their turn the children choose a ticket at random and this tells them the number of people they can put on the train. Or, since the domino has two section they choose one section to be the number that get on and the other the number that get off.
• Children might want to include parents too.
  My yellow ones are the daddies and the blue ones are the mummies and the red ones are the kids.
• However you use the activity:
  • Encourage the children to make up a story about what happens and act it out with their plugs.
  • Encourage the children to record their story in words and/or pictures.
  • Encourage the children to tell their story with a calculator.
  • Encourage the children to record their story using the calculator's symbols.

Taking The Train can be used many times. Different arrangements of plugs make a new problem every time. Digital photos work well with this activity - photograph a child's train/platform/passengers, print their photo and ask them to write about their picture, or scribe their oral explanation for them. Sometimes you might make a display of the children's work.

Extension

Five people got off the train and no one else got on. There were less than 10 people on the train when it moved away again. How many people might have been on the train when it came into the station?

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