In this activity we focus on numbers that can be created by repeated addition, summing the same number again and again to achieve the result. In this activity students build flexible number trains out of Cuisenaire rods which promotes embodied cognition because of the movement of rods while the different ways of seeing a similar length supports further development of the Approximate Number System (ANS) that we use for estimating quantities. We love this task since it provides the opportunity to create an equivalent length in different ways. It is important for students to experience the different ways a number can be made by combining other smaller numbers.
