Week 2 | Blind Find Activity for Cuisenaire Rods

Story Discussion

Read “Shark the Clark is Afraid of the Dark” by Bruce Hale

At the end of the story, ask the following questions.  

  Do things look the same in the dark?  

Have you ever tried to figure out what something is in the dark?  

What helped you figure it out?

Cuisenaire Rod Activity |Blind Find   

Now tell the students you are going to play a game called the blind find.  Students will take turns searching for a specific color rod that is hiding in your bag.  

Pick a yellow rod and a purple rod.  Then show the students the rods.  

  This is a yellow rod and this is the purple rod.  

Besides the different colors, how are they different?  

Is one shorter?  Is one longer?

Consider passing the two rods around for the students to feel if you think it is needed.  Then place the rods into the opaque bag.   Ask a student to try and pull out the purple rod without looking.

Let each student have a try (if class size makes that a viable option).   Have students explain how they figured out which one was the purple rod.  Let the students use the rods to show understanding if needed.

Math Center Idea:   Set up an opaque bag with one rod of each color.  Have the students record the rods on the journal page provided.    Consider throwing in a small toy shark for a surprise.

5 days of Math Centers for Blind Find are found in Math Task Cards, Worksheet and Play Mats Module 1.2

Extending the Blind Find

There is a variety of ways to extend the Blind Find.  You can pick up PDL's Module 1 Task Cards and Manual for more ideas.