This manual is dedicated to Caleb Gattegno, 1911-1988, without

whom I would still be languishing in desperation as a homeschool

teacher.

This manual is hardly an original work. At best, I’m a

borrower of ideas. If there is anything good here,
it is because I had help.

Special Thanks To:

All the ladies of the Gattegno Study Group, thanks for

learning with me. The Arithmophobia No More Facebook group, I
couldn’t work with a better bunch of people. Lacy for
encouragement. Andrea for being my brain when mine is gone.
Yuyan for going to NY and making learning
Gattegno so much more interesting.
And to Andi Durkin, who edited this manual, and
pushed me to clarify my thoughts. It is a much better document
because of your effort.

2
3
CONTE NTS
Note From the Author 4

General Instructions 7

Sessions of Free Play 15

1.1 Discovering Rod Names and Qualities 17

1.2 Recognition by Size 18

1.3 Bigger, Smaller, Equivalent 19

1.4 Staircases 22

1.5 Complements 26

1.6 Trains, Patterns and Mats 30

1.7 Transformations 38

1.8 Odd and Even 40

4
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Readers, please understand, this manual is not an intellectual

treatment of Caleb Gattegno’s method of teaching mathematics
with Cuisenaire Rods . Instead, I have broken down the first of the
®

Gattegno Mathematics Textbooks into bite-sized chunks from

several quality sources to help you begin your mathematical
teaching journey with confidence.

The manual and task cards are meant to be a bridge between

using the Gattegno textbook alone and scripted lessons. I don’t
want to throw you out to the wolves with no guide, and I don’t
want to hand-hold you either. My hope is to make the Gattegno
method easier for teachers who are interested in this unique
learning process. However, keep in mind that he wrote his
material in a particular way for a reason.

What makes his method unique and beautiful is also what makes
it most difficult to teach. The core of his method involves a
complete shift in the teacher’s thinking. His goal is to give students
the opportunity to discover truths for themselves. He calls these
discoveries ‘awareness’. Teachers cannot discover for their
students. They can only direct, encourage, and present
opportunities that force awareness on the student.

Madeleine Goutard, who was a teacher-trainer for the Gattegno

method in Canada, suggested that his books be used flexibly and
not as a straight-jacket. They were not designed as traditional
textbooks. One experienced teacher suggested that you read the
textbook a couple times and then work with students, leaving the
book behind. While that is a liberating idea, I know it will not
work for most parents.

On the other hand, if you take this manual, task cards, and
Cuisenaire Rods and teach the same way you did before, there is
little hope for improving your student’s understanding or
enjoyment of math. Your students will become bored with the
rods and with the teaching. The magic does not lie in the rods
themselves or in the words printed on the page. Rather, it is a
complete paradigm shift that is necessary to properly absorb and
“own” this material. If you take this simplified version of the

5
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

material and use it the same way you might use any other
curriculum, the point would be missed entirely.

The Gattegno Mathematics Textbooks and The Handbook of

Activities are concerned with the entire classroom experience. His
desire was to create mathematicians. He envisioned the study of
mathematics as “an inquiry, self-educating (that is, heuristic)
process, in which students are enabled to make sense of the
material under study on their own terms, and to develop their own
generalizations and skills according to their own criteria.” In other
words, children will learn the most when the responsibility for
their awareness, discovery and insight is placed upon their
shoulders.

I hope that once you get started you will enjoy the same benefits
with your students as I have with mine. I trust your success will
compel you to learn more about how this way of teaching can
change the way you teach everything, for this method doesn’t just
work with math alone. We are on a mission to create life-long,
competent, independent learners.

Once you get through Gattegno’s first textbook, with the assistance
of this manual, it is unlikely you will need my support again. You
will be able to read the Gattegno textbooks as the reference they
were meant to be and you will be able to help any child grapple
with the material in front of them.

Get started by following this guide and then once you and your
students begin to take on the great math monster with confidence,
come back to the following resources to learn more about
Gattegno and how we learn:

My favorite resources, not necessarily in order of importance:

1. A Teacher’s Introduction to Cuisenaire Rods by Gattegno

2. The Common Sense Teaching of Mathematics by Gattegno

3. Now Johnny Can Do Arithmetic by Gattegno

6
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

4. Mathematics and Children by Goutard

5. Talks for Primary School Children by Goutard

The Gattegno books are available free online. They can also be
purchased from Educational Solutions in the United States or
from the Cuisenaire Company in the United Kingdom.

You can also find many Gattegno-related resources at the

Association of Teachers of Mathematics, which is an organization
Gattegno founded. Other resources are linked throughout this
text. A more complete list of resources can be found at the
Arithmophobia No More blog.

Lacy Coker from Play, Discover, Learn has created a set of over
400 task cards to go with this manual. The task cards will be most
useful for the parent who wants an open and go curriculum.

7
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

HOW TO USE THE MANUAL

Module 1 of this manual corresponds to the first two chapters in

Gattegno’s Textbook 1 with sections that have similar names and appear in
nearly the same order. The sequence in which you introduce these ideas
does not matter with the exception of section 1.1, Discovering Rod Names
& Qualities, which should be done first because it is important for the
child to know the rod colors before proceeding to other activities.

The Manual is a Guide, Not a Textbook

Like Gattegno’s textbook, this manual is not meant to be used as a daily

lesson guide in which you would check off completed exercises and then
proceed to chapter three. Rather, it should be read more like a guidebook
that you use in order to understand the lay of the land. The exercises can,
and should, be done multiple times until the child is comfortable with the
rods, with creating the various rod structures, and with talking about the
structure that was created.

Patterns for Working with the Rods

Base ten blocks make excellent manipulatives because they can be used to
model a wide variety of mathematical concepts. While building just a few
structures, students can work on multiple areas of mathematics at the same
time. These structures include trains, staircases, patterns and mats.

HOW THE MANUAL AND THE PLAY. DISCOVER,

LEARN TASK CARDS WORK TOGETHER

The task cards link back to the manual by section number and activity
letter. For more information, please see the introduction in the task cards
file.
This manual was designed as a standalone. You do not need the task cards
in order to use the manual. However, the cards will make the manual
more useful for most teachers.

8
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

WHAT TOOLS DOES THE TEACHER NEED?

The following tools and concepts will enable you to get started without
feeling like you have to know everything at once. It would be challenging
to simply read and immediately replicate with Gattegno. You need to
experience the method — the more you use it, the better you will become.

1. Cusiseaire Rods®

The Cuisenaire Rods® allow the student to model a vast number of

mathematical ideas, some at the same time, which make them an
efficient learning tool. In addition, they make it easy for the student to
visualize patterns and relationships. The more the child perceives, the
more the student “mathematizes”.

2. Awareness

Awareness is the knowledge of a situation or fact. Gattegno stated that

only awareness can be educated in humans. What does Gattegno mean
by this? Denise Gaskins, from Let’s Play Math blog, reworked this
statement in the negative for better clarity, “Until there is awareness,
education is impossible.” We could also say that until there is
recognition, education is impossible. Neither of these statements express
exactly what Gattegno meant, but I don’t want you, the reader, to get
stuck on definitions. This idea will grow on you the more you use the
method.

When we consider acquisition of language, this concept of awareness is

more easily grasped. Baby first becomes aware that the sounds large
people create are meant for communication. Baby is aware that people
respond when she coos and smiles. Then there is a complex amount of
sorting that happens. Words are sorted. “Dog” means “all dogs”, not just
the dog in my house and not just the dogs that look like my dog. “I”
means “me” when I am speaking, but it means “the other person” when
he is speaking.

We instinctively know how to teach a baby to talk: We talk. We point to

objects and say the names. We provide the details. But, Baby also comes

9
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

prepared — to organize, group and abstract ideas from the words she is
hearing. Baby naturally becomes aware of more and more complex uses
of language. Soon Baby grows into Child and realizes that words can
rhyme. Though no one likely explained rhymes, Parent read Dr. Suess
books. In this simple way, Parent provided a situation in which Child
became aware that words sound alike and those words are fun to say.
When Child practices this new found awareness, a smart Parent will say,
“Those are rhyming words.”

While Baby must learn the names of things over time, the ability to string
it all together is not memorized. All of this happens in the area of
awareness. Certain awareness can be forced by providing opportunities,
such as reading Dr. Suess books. But Parent may have to read these
books 20 times before an awareness of rhyming happens. Even if Parent
explains what rhyming means and forces the student to remember the
definition, only when Child becomes aware that certain words do sound
alike, will the word “rhyme” have any real meaning.

Here’s a great example of this process in action from John Pint, staff
member at Educational Solutions, publisher of the Gattegno Textbooks.
He described his first contact with awareness while he was observing a
first grade classroom:

From the tower demonstrating that 2 x 4 x 5=40, the teacher

pulled out the 5 and I could see that 2 x 4, or a red rod crossing a
pink one, was left over. “Forty divided by 5…” said the teacher.
“Eight,” said I, because I could see the result.

This was a whole new experience for me. I had always

considered division a rather mysterious process, involving a set of
rules that always produced a correct answer. These rods not only
made the result unshakably obvious they also made it possible
for me to see with crystal clarity, the relationship between
multiplication and division, something that should have struck
me as a child in school, but only hit me as an adult sitting on a
carpet with first-graders.

The teacher had put something before my eyes which helped me

to gain a new awareness. What is important here is that the

10
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

teacher did not pass on a bit of her knowledge to me, which is

what most people might say is the typical job of a teacher, but,
instead, she got me to look at something that was undeniable and
obvious and the result was that I — not the teacher — experienced
something called an awareness and because it was my own
personal awareness, it hit me like a sledgehammer, so strongly
that I can’t possibly forget that moment.

One of the roles of the teacher is to create crystal-clear, obvious

situations that make it easy for students to have awareness after
awareness. No manipulation or coercion is involved.

3. Arbitrary and Necessary — Knowing the Difference

If children are to be self-directed learners, should the teacher simply

place the rods on the floor and hope the student absorbs all he needs to
know after six months? No. Obviously, the teacher must communicate
with the student. What then, is the information that should be given to
the student and what information should be left for discovery?

Dave Hewitt makes a distinction between arbitrary information, which is

the information that must be told, and necessary information, which is
information that can be figured out without help.

Take this sentence: Dogs are barking inside the house at 105 Park
Street. Dogs are a word for an animal. There is no way to know that
word unless you are told. The same goes for house.

Arbitrary information is anything you could not figure out on your own.
Symbols and their names fall into this category. Definition of terms, how
we write things, names of numbers — all of that is also arbitrary
information, which must be shared with and remembered by the student.

The student can figure out necessary information. If the student lives at
105 Park Street, then the student can simply count the dogs in the home.
Unless the students isn’t aware of how to count. In that case, the teacher
should work on tasks that make it possible for the student to develop an
awareness of counting.

11
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Arbitrary information works in the area of memory whereas necessary

information works in the area of awareness.
This becomes an issue when the teacher explains, “When we place two
rods end to end, we have made a train.”

Trains could just as easily be called “snakes” or “paths”, but we have

agreed that it is a “train”. When the teacher says “end to end”, the
teacher and the student must agree as to what this language means.

“Can you make a train with only red rods that is the same length or
equivalent to the orange train? How many rods does it have?” The
number of rods is necessary information and should be left to the
student to determine. Length and equivalent are both arbitrary and
should be explained if the student doesn’t already know the meaning.

For a full treatment of arbitrary and necessary, please see Dave Hewitt’s
articles in the journal, For the Learning of Mathematics.

4. Math Compositions

A math composition is similar to a literary composition. It is math that

the student generates from experience rather than from problems pulled
out of a book. A math composition can take a variety of forms. It might
include observations about a structure, new awareness the student has
gained, rewriting a number in as many ways as the student can imagine,
rewriting an equation in as many ways as the student can imagine; the
possibilities are endless. Usually this writing is done without looking at
the rods. Math compositions are the primary tool the teacher uses to
determine the real knowledge a student possesses.

At this stage, most students will not be generating long math

compositions. They are just beginning to work on their ability to
communicate in mathematical language, which means one to two
statements are fine. At the preschool /kindergarten level these will be
verbal statements of one or two sentences, which the teacher can choose
to scribe or not.

12
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

5. A Math Notebook

The student should have a math notebook to keep a record of his math
journey. Since many young children are emerging writers, Gattegno did
not recommend forcing a student to pen the words himself. Instead,
teachers should scribe for the student.

In addition to the student notebook, I advise the teacher to keep a

notebook as well. What should go in the teacher notebook? Teacher-
created math compositions, observations and things the teacher wonders
about as well as the teacher’s self-evaluation of each lesson can be
included. This tool is a record of the teacher’s math path and learning-to-
teach journey. Self-evaluation and observations about our own thinking is
what we expect from our students. It is a good practice to model this
behavior for the student.

6. On Asking Questions

Gattegno believed that students arrive with a tremendous capacity to

learn. It is the teacher’s job to tap into it. The student is not an empty
vessel that you simply fill with information. As a natural consequence,
the teacher will be talking less than usual and the student will be doing
most of the work. The teacher guides the child and allows her to come to
a certain awarenesses. Several methods help the child to acquire this
skill:
1. presenting a challenge that the student must accomplish,
2. practicing the art of silence and letting the child think for themselves,
3. practicing the art of carefully posed questions.

Much can be said about asking the right questions to “force awareness”
on the child. This manual is not large enough for a detailed treatment on
proper questioning. Of course, the teacher must begin somewhere.
Examples of questions are provided in the manual. For a better
understanding about questions, I recommend the video on the following
page by Annie Fetter. It is simple, easy to remember, and will take you
further than even the best intentioned questions.

13
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

My favorite questions begin with:

“What happens if…”

“Could we use a different rod for …”
“Describe for me…”
“Can you tell me more about…”

For even more direction on questions, I recommend guidance from

Madeleine Goutard, C.E. Chambers and Gattegno himself. You can find
links to those resources on the Arithmophobia No More blog.

Right now, we are less concerned that the student master this material by
giving you the right answer to a specific question than we are in wanting the
student to become comfortable talking, thinking and making observations
about the material in front of them. We want them to think.

Objectives for Module 1

1. Develop familiarity with the rods and skill in handling them. Students
are able to line rods up “end to end” and “side by side” with ease. Student
are able to form trains, mats and staircases with no help from the teacher.

2. Students know that the rods of the same color are equal in length; rods
of the same length are the same color.

14
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

3. The student is aware that the rods have an order of size. Each rod is one
unit larger the previous one.

4. Students are able to talk about the rods and rod structures. Some
children, because of siblings, will use “addition vocabulary”. They may
replace “and” with “plus” and some will simply state the colors. The
language is not important as long as the student is talking about the
structures he has made.

5. Students are able to make comparisons and observations about the rods
without manipulating them. The student is able to look at a set of rods and
say which is larger and smaller only by looking. The student is able to
articulate which complement is missing by looking at the rod. He no
longer needs to hold the rod to measure and check.

6. Ideally, students are able to make observations and comparisons without

looking at the rods at all. The teacher may ask, “I have a train made with a
red and a light green rod; which rod do I need to make it equivalent to an
orange?” The student can answer this question without touching or seeing
the rods. Since this is an evolving skill, this goal is not hard and fast and
shouldn’t be used in a strict manner.

Students should not be told these concepts. Most children will pick up this
information on their own by playing with the blocks. If not, the pre-
arithmetic activities will help them discover these ideas.

Progression of Comparisons

When working with the rods, we follow a general pattern for comparisons.
When a child has mastered the first level, we can move to the second.
However, this rule is not hard and fast to be used in a wooden way. In
reality, students will choose to work more fluidly with the rods and the
teacher should diligently follow the student’s lead.

From the teacher’s point of view, rods should be introduced in the

15
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

following pattern:
1. Compare a single rod to a single rod.
2. Compare two rods to one rod.
3. Compare two rods to two rods.
4. Compare two or more rods to one or more rods.

How to Perform Activities

Where the directions for the activity that require someone to find, place or
set-up the rods. The teacher should do this in the beginning to model how
it is done. Once a child is able, the student should do this for himself.

16
SESSIONS OF FREE PLAY

Learning begins in play. This theory certainly holds true when learning
math with Cuisenaire Rods . In fact, when introducing children ages four to
®

six to the rods, allow several weeks of free play before adding formal
lessons. Free play should continue even after formal lessons are
introduced. Older children need at least two to three class periods of free
play before the introduction of formal lessons. If the students do not have
the opportunity to play with the rods outside of a designated math time, it
is advisable to start each math period with a session of free play of at least
ten minutes.

Free play is exactly what it sounds like. Students should be given the rods
to create and build anything they wish without interference from the
teacher. This means no games, no suggestions, no cajoling, etc. The
teacher should spend this time observing the student/s. The teacher should
be looking for how the student uses the materials and what she builds.

• Is the student substituting 2 or more rods for a single rod?

• Has the student discovered that some rods are too long or too short
for the structure he or she is building?
• Does the teacher notice some understanding of equivalency on the
part of the student?
• Is the student aware of symmetry?

Free play serves multiple purposes:

• develops spatial reasoning

• develops fine motor skills
• encourages patience and focus
• encourages problem-solving and reasoning skills
• develops creative, divergent thinking.

Considerations for Students with Special Needs

1.1 DISCOVERING ROD NAMES AND QUALITIES

A. Sort the Rods

This activity will only need to be done once or twice.

Dump a pile of rods onto the table and ask the student to sort the rods by
color.
Gather all the rods together and mix them up. Then ask the student to sort
the rods by size.
What we want the child to understand is that rods of the same color are
the same length and rods that are the same length are the same color.

Questions you can ask if the child doesn't offer these observations:

“What color is the smallest rod?”

“What color is the longest rod?”
“What color is the biggest rod?”
“Which rod is bigger — a red rod or a yellow rod?”
“Are all the red rods smaller than the yellow rods?”
“How do you know?”

B. Name the Rods 1

Hold up a yellow rod and say: “This is a yellow rod. Show me a yellow
rod.”
Hold up a dark green rod and say: “This is a dark green rod. Show me a
dark green rod.”
Repeat with all the other colors.

C. Name the Rods 2

Once the teacher has worked through each of the colors, the teacher
should take a rod and ask the student: “Which rod is this?”
1.2 RECOGNITION BY SIZE

A. Recognition by Feel
Place a white rod and a red rod in a small bag or in the student’s hands. If
using hands, the student should place his hands behind his back.
Say: “Without looking, show me the white rod.”

Place the white rod back in the bag or the hands placed behind the back.
Say: “Without looking, can you show me the red rod?”

Add additional rods, one at a time. As soon as the student has difficulty
finding the correct rods, remove one rod and do additional work. Once
the student is able to correctly name the rods, add another rod.

B. Recognition by Feel 2
With three or more rods in the bag, ask the student to pull out the rods in
the order of smallest to largest. Repeat the activity, going largest to smallest.

Many activities can be made more challenging by adding a bag or placing

rods behind the student’s back or under a cup. Student’s like these
activities if played as a game.

19
1.3 BIGGER, SMALLER AND EQUIVALENT

A. Place two different color rods (like a light green and a brown) in your
hand. Hold them upright in your fist so that the bottoms are covered and
not visible, but an equal amount of both colors are visible.
Ask: “Which color rod looks longer?”
Then open your hand to reveal the complete rod.
Ask: “Now which rod looks longer?”
“Why do we get different answers?”
“What do you think we can do to make sure we know which rod is
longer?”

Students need to become aware that in order to measure correctly, the

rods need to be lined up and placed side by side. The student may offer
several ideas. It is important that the student be allowed to try out his idea
and test whether it is a solution to the problem or not. The teacher should
avoid telling the child the answer, but gently guide the child by asking
questions that begin with:
“What if . . .”
“Can you tell me more about . . .”
“Which seems better . . .”

B. Hold up one rod and ask the child to find a rod that is smaller than the
rod you are holding. If the child is successful, ask the child to find a rod
that is longer than the one you are holding.

C. For increased difficulty, if the child is successful with exercise two,

choose two rods with a difference of at least two white rods. Ask the
student to find the rod that is larger than the smaller rod, but smaller than
the larger rod.

D. Without holding up the rods, name two rods with a difference of at

least two white rods. Ask the student to name a rod that is larger than the
smallest rod, but smaller than the largest rod.

E. Repeat the above sequence, but this time, ask the student to name the
rods without looking at them.

Activities for bigger, smaller and equal need to be worked on until the
1.3 BIGGER, SMALLER AND EQUIVALENT

student has a thorough understanding of what they mean. Even when you
think the student understands, it doesn’t mean they actually do. This takes
time, students need to be able to play and explore concepts in both free
play and directed activities.

F. Take two of the smaller rods and place them end to end.
Ask: “Can you find all the rods that are smaller or shorter than this
train?”
“Which rods are larger or longer than this train?”

If the student is unsure how to find larger and smaller, refer back to the
previous exercise. Ask the student, “What could you do to know for sure
that the rod is smaller or larger?”

G. Take any rod and find one that is equivalent to, smaller and larger. Do
this activity with all the rods until the student is correct every time.

H. Name any rod, without touching it, ask the student to name a rod that
is equivalent, smaller and bigger.

I. Take any rod that is larger than the white rod. Ask the student to find
two rods, which are placed end to end, that are equivalent, smaller and
larger. Repeat with all the colors.
“Is there a smaller rod than the white rod?”
“Can two rods, placed end to end, be equivalent to the white rod?”

J. Find the missing rod. Place two rods together as shown below. Ask the
student to find the rod, that when placed end to end with the smaller rod,
make the same length as the larger rod.

21
1.3 BIGGER, SMALLER AND EQUIVALENT

K. Repeat the above, but take two rods and place them end to end.
Choose a smaller rod and place it as shown below. Ask the student to find
the missing rod.

L. Mix all four rods together from exercise six. Ask the student to make
two trains that are equivalent in length. Mix them back together and ask
the student to pick any two rods to put end to end.
If we place the trains side by side, what do you notice?
If the student offers no observations, ask:
“Are the trains equal?”
“Which one is longer?”

22
1.4 STAIRCASES

A staircase is made by placing rods side by side in sequential order to form

steps or a staircase. Staircase work seems very easy to a teacher but it is not
work that should be skipped. When the student builds staircases they are
beginning work with arithmetic progressions, which turns out to be a very
important mathematical concept.
There are some big ideas hidden in staircase work that have far reaching
effects into your student’s future understanding.

Awareness We Wish the Student to Gain

· Rods are separated by a common difference.

· The rods have an order of size.

· If we add the same colored rod to all the steps in the staircase, the
difference between the rods will remain the same.

· If we reduce the staircase by a given amount the difference between each

step remains the same.

The red rods can be added or

subtracted from the staircase but the
difference between the steps remains
constant.

· If the height between the steps of the staircase is filled in with the same
rod on each step, a new staircase is produced.
1.4 STAIRCASES

· The height between the steps can be systematically increased.

· Staircases can be expanded indefinitely.

· Two staircases can be combined in multiple ways.

24
1.4 STAIRCASES

· With interlocking staircases, the complements for any rod can be found.
Complements are pairs of rods that are equivalent to another rod. A
complement pair for the orange rod is blue and white.

Exercises for staircases:

A. Have the student order the rods from smallest to largest. It may be
helpful to place one of each colored rod on the table so that the student
knows he has them all the first time he builds a staircase. It is better not to
correct the student if the rods are not in order. Instead, ask questions that
lead to an awareness of large and small and help the student understand
the stepping-up nature of a staircase.

Questions to ask if the student is having difficulty:

“Have you used each colored rod?”
“Does this step step-up or step-down?”
“How can you make this step a step-up step?”

Questions for the activity:

“Which rod is the smallest?”
“Which rod is the largest?”
“Which rod comes after the smallest?”
“Which rod comes after the second smallest rod?”
“Which rod comes before the largest rod?”

B. Have the student read the rod colors going up (from smallest to largest).
Now have the student read them going down (largest to smallest).

25
1.4 STAIRCASES

C. After the student has gotten to know the rods, have the student read
every other rod. Starting first with the white rod and then with the red rod.

D. Choose any rod and ask the student to name the rods in order going
backwards from the chosen rod and then going forward. Practice this
activity often by switching the chosen rod each time.

E. Repeat all of the above activities, but have the student close their eyes if
there are rods on the table or by imagining the staircase if no rods are
present. The student should try to visualize the staircase.
As part of the learning process, young students will naturally make
mistakes before discovering the best answer. Allow the student as much
time as needed to get to know the rods and develop mastery without
pointing out or correcting their attempts at answering.

If the student is unable to work from memory, go back and use

the rods and try again another day.

26
1.5 C OMPLEMENT S

Complement work easily follows work with staircases, but it isn’t necessary
to do it in that order. Complement work is the foundation of the student’s
study of addition and subtraction.

A. Starting with an orange staircase, ask the student to find and put in his
place all the rods that will make every step even with the orange rod.
According to this image:

The student should be allowed plenty of time to complete this task. She
will likely need to measure each space several times before finding the
correct rod. Resist the desire to assist her by making suggestions or
pointing to the correct rod.

B. Say: “The rod you found is called a complement. Remove the rods and
leave the staircase as it was before.”
Ask the student:
“Can you tell me which rod is needed for the white rod?”
“Can you tell me which rod is needed for the yellow?”
“What about the black?”
Continue in this way, over several sessions until the student can
name the complements for all the rods.

C. Take an orange rod and place a yellow rod side by side with it. Which
rod do you need to place end to end with the yellow rod to make the same
length as the orange?

?
1.5 C OMPLEMENT S

Put the dark green side by side with the orange. Ask: “Which rod do you
need to place end to end to with the dark green to make it equivalent in
length to the orange?”

D. Have the student create two staircases for the orange rod. Ask the
student to combine the staircases by turning them sideways so that they
interlock according to the following image:

Ask: “What do you notice about the staircases and its

complements?”
“If we remove the orange rods and move the top staircase up one
step, what do you think will happen?”
The student can work through all the complements for the rods by adding
or removing rods at the top and bottom of the interlocking staircase and
sliding the staircase up a step or down a step.

E. With each progressive move of the interlocking staircase, ask the

student to recite the complements for each rod. For example:
“Orange is equivalent to white and blue.”
“Orange is equivalent to red and brown.”
“Orange is equivalent to light green and black.”
Do not attempt to do the complements for every rod in one session. This

28
1.5 C OMPLETMENTS

game can be played multiple times.

F. Pick any two rods of different colors and place them side by side as
shown below:

“Which rod fits this space?”

G. Repeat the above activity, but ask the student to choose the rods and
find the missing one.

H. Choose two rods as in exercise four, picking two rods with one smaller
than the other, ask the student to find the missing rod by:
1. using the rods
2. looking at the rods and showing which rod is needed.
3. hearing the names of the rods and saying which rod is needed.
Repeat this sequence with rods of each of the colors.

I. Choose any two rods and find the rod, or rod, that is equivalent to it.
?

J. Take any pair of rods placed end to end and find as many pairs as
possible that, when placed end to end, are equivalent to the first pair.

K. Choose any two rods placed end to end and ask the student to find the
rod or rods that are equivalent by:
1. Using the rods.

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1.5 C OMP LETMENT S

2. Looking at the rods and showing what is needed.

3. Hearing the names of the rods and telling what is needed.

The teacher’s goal is to gradually move the student away from

manipulating the rods and into the realm of mental and auditory work.
Therefore, the teacher will find this progression of using the rods, seeing
the rods and showing what is needed, to hearing the rod sequence and
speaking about what is needed throughout Gattegno’s textbooks.

Each student will progress along the path at his own pace. We don’t need
to rush. Careful consideration should be given before moving on to other
modules if the student is unable to hear the rod sequence and speak what
is needed. Some students will be able to add additional information, some
will not. If the student begins to struggle, it is a clear sign to back up.

Each subsequent module builds on this one. The exercises are similar; we
are working with trains, staircases, mats and patterns and eventually towers,
but each time around, we are adding more information and forcing more
awarenesses.

Allowing the student to internalize the rods at this stage will save a lot of
time. Humans have limited working memory, which is why Gattegno
insisted that memory could not be educated. Therefore, provide the
student ample time now to memorize smaller chunks of information so
that his memory is not unnecessarily taxed later on.

Please review awareness in the general information section.

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1.6 TRAIN S, PATTERNS AN D MATS

Two or more rods placed end to end are called a train. Each rod in the
train is called a car. The smallest train is a train of two white rods.

Trains are one of the core tools we use to discover with Cuisenaire Rods .®

They serve as building blocks to larger mathematical ideas. Students will

build a lot of trains:

long trains and insanely long trains,

short trains,
trains of one color,
trains that are the same length as one rod,
trains that are the same length as two or more rods,
trains of two colors, three colors and more.

When talking about trains, we want to use the terms equivalent to and
same length. For example: “Make a train that is the same length as a yellow
rod” or “Make a train that is equivalent to five green rods.”
When we compare trains, we place the trains side by side.
A red rod placed side by side with two white rods:

In the beginning, the teacher should refrain from intervening much. Allow
children to discover the attributes of the trains for themselves.
Occasionally, ask the student to “read” his train (see the Reading the Rods
section in General Instructions). Students should also be asked to compare
trains for lengths of longer/shorter and bigger/smaller.

Progression for Teaching Trains

When the student builds trains for comparison, the teacher should follow
this general progression:

a train of one rod to a train of more than one rod,

31
1.6 TRAIN S, PATTERNS AN D MATS

a train of two rods to a train of two rods,

a train of two or more rods to a train of two or more rods.

Addition/Subtraction Train Patterns

Certain train patterns lend themselves to the study of addition and

subtraction. For instance:

From the above image, we can determine that a dark green rod is the
equivalent to a purple rod and a red rod. We also know that the difference
between a dark green rod and a purple rod is a red rod and the difference
between a dark green rod and a red rod is a purple rod.

If the red rod and the purple rod switch places, we can see that the dark
green rod is equivalent to a red rod and a purple rod. It doesn’t make any
difference which way we order the rods.

Multiplication/Division/Fraction Train Patterns

Other train patterns lend themselves to the study of multiplication, division

and fractions.

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1.6 TRAIN S, PATTERNS AN D MATS

Patterns

In Gattegno’s work, there isn’t a clear distinction between patterns and

mats. For the sake of clarity, I’ve defined them as described below.

When we place trains side by side that are equivalent to one or more rods,
we have made a pattern. When we create many patterns, the entire group
of patterns is called a mat.

A pattern for the blue rod.

A mat for the blue rod.

A pattern is complete when all patterns for a particular rod have been
found. Rods greater in length than a yellow will have more patterns than
most pre-K and K children will be able to find. Older children should be
encouraged to find a complete pattern for one of the larger rods and
develop a system to determine if they have found all of the patterns and
permutations.

33
1.6 TRAIN S, PATTERNS AN D MATS

A complete pattern for the yellow rod.

Working with Trains and Mats

The student will get the most from his exploration if allowed to go back
and forth between patterns and mat work.

This concept will become more apparent in module two when we add the
mathematical language to these activities. Right now, students should be
allowed to explore and make observations about what they find in both
patterns and mats.

Students should be encouraged to make patterns and build mats — lots of

them. Sometimes the teacher will want to add constraints to the activity
such as:

Limit the length or width of a mat; make a pattern for the orange rod that
has seven trains in it.
Limit quantity of colors in a pattern; make patterns for the blue rod, each
train must be a single color; or a pattern for the blue rod, each train
must contain three colors.
Limit quantity of rods in the pattern; make a pattern for the orange rod
with three cars in each train.

Observations, Exploration and Questions

What observations can the student make from using different constraints?

Mat Work Observations

“Describe the mat you made.” (There is no wrong way to describe a mat,
unless the student states that they have a train that isn’t in his mat.)

34
1.6 TRAIN S, PATTERNS AN D MATS

If the student doesn’t offer, ask the student to read some of the trains in
his pattern.

Explore ways of comparing different patterns.

“Does your pattern have this train . . . (red, white, white, dark green)?”
“Does your pattern have…?”

“Did we make all the patterns that have three rods for the orange train?”

“Can we make them all?”

“Which has more trains: a complete pattern for the orange rod, where
each pattern has two rods or a complete pattern for the orange rod and
each train has three rods? How do you know? Why do you think that is?”
Single Color Pattern Questions

“Can an equivalent single color train be made for each rod? A white train
does not count.”

“Which rods cannot be made with an equivalent train of a single color?”

“Can each rod be made with a train of red rods? Which ones can and
which ones can’t? What happens if we order those rods smallest to
largest? What do you notice about the rods that can be made with an
equivalent train of red rods?”

B. Make several trains. Ask the student to name the trains using the color
names of the rods. See the Reading the Rods section in General
Instructions section of this manual.

C. Make a train of more than two rods equivalent in length to any single
rod. Such as the blue rod.
Ask: “Are there more trains you can make?”
“Make as many trains as you can for the blue rod.”

Say: “When we find trains that are equivalent to one of the rods
and we place them side by side, close together, we’ve made a pattern.”

D. Make as many patterns as you can for the purple rod. Place them side
by side to make a mat.

35
1.6 TRAIN S, PATTERNS AN D MAT S

Ask: “Do you have …

a light green and a white train?”
a train of all white?”
a train with two reds?”

“Do you have trains I didn’t say?”

E. Repeat the above activity with the other rods.

F. Find a single rod that has the following patterns:

light green, purple and white

white, yellow and white
black and red
red, red, white and red

G. Ask the student to make a train so that another student or teacher can
find the rod or rods that make the pattern.

Single Color Train Exercises

H. Ask the student to lay out one rod of each color from smallest to largest
according to the image below. Rods should be horizontal, but not end to
end. It may be easier to do the first five smallest, then the next five.

Ask the student to cover each rod with only the red rods. It must be
completely covered, with nothing left over. Ask: “Can it always be done?”

“Which rods can be covered using only a red rod?”

“Which rods can be covered using a light green?”
“And what about purple?”
“And now yellow.”
“Are there any rods that cannot be covered with any other color? If
so, which ones are they?”

36
1.6 TRAIN S, PATTERNS AN D MATS

I. Ask the student to make a train of eight red rods.

“Can you make an equivalent train of light green rods?”
“Can you make an equivalent light green train?”
“Work through the other color trains and determine which rods
can make an equivalent train to one of eight red rods.”

J. Change the number of red rods to nine.

“Can you make an equivalent train of light green rods?”
“Work through the other colors and determine how many single
color trains are equivalent to a train of nine red rods.”

What observations can the student make after completing exercises two
and three? Can the student make any guesses as to why changing the
number of red rods will change which single color trains are equivalent to
the red train?

Have the student experiment with various train lengths and see what
happens. Ask:
“Can you make a train of all brown and all red that end at the same
place?”
“Can you make a train of all red and all blue that end at the same
place?”
“How many red cars are there and how many blue cars are there?”

K. Rod Race

L. Ask the student to make a train of a single color using the red, light

37
1.6 TRAIN S, PATTERNS AN D MATS

green, purple or yellow rods. Then make additional single color trains
using other rods as shown in the image below and place them side by
side with the green train. The other rods need not be exactly those
shown in the image below.

Ask: “Which trains end at a light green rod? Which do not?”

M. Repeat this activity with the other rods listed above.

38
1.7 TRAN SFORMAT IONS

In order to produce students who are mathematically intuitive, they must

develop a relational understanding of mathematics. At the heart of
relationships is the understanding of how numbers, ideas and situations
can be transformed into similar ideas and situations that are related.
Halving, doubling and tripling fall into this category as does combinatorics,
which is the study of how the various elements in a set can be arranged.
Transformations show up in geometry in the form of scaling, rotations and
reflections. This is by no means an exhaustive list of how transformations
are used in mathematics.

The study of transformations begins with two trains. A train of one rod and
a train made up of three blocks in two colors. We will place the trains side
by side. In the train of three cars, we will start with the odd colored car on
the outside. For clarity, the single car train will be referenced as the train
and the train used for transformations as the t-train.

We want the student to say that both trains are the same length. We will
then move the red rod to the center and ask if the trains are still the same
length. Then we will remove the red rod and slide the green ones together.

Which rod do we need to make the trains the same length? If you have a
young child, he may not know that it is the red rod; he may need to think
about it or even measure it. Click he image below to see how this works.

A. Start with a train consisting of a brown rod. Make a complete t-train

using two light green rods and a red rod. Remove one rod, slide the
other two together. Ask the student to find the rod that will make both

39
1.7 TRAN SFORMAT IONS

trains the same length.

B. Using your brown train from above, make a t-train for it using two rods
that are not large enough to make the length of the brown rod. Ask the
student to find the missing rod.

C. Using the same brown train from above, make a t-train of two rods with
a space left. Ask the student to say which rod fits in the space.

D. Place a train of one rod on the table. Tell the student which two rods
make part of the t-train. Ask the student to share which rod completes
the t-train. The student should do this without touching the rods.

Practice the above using the same progression with the orange, blue, black
and dark green rods.

Progression for Transformations

Start with a complete t-train. Remove one rod, slide the other two together.
Ask the student to find the rod that will make both trains the same length.

Make a t-train of two rods with a space left. The student will find the rod
that fits the space/makes the trains the same length.

Make a t-train of two rods with a space left. Without touching the rods, the
student tells which rod fits in the space.

Place a train of one rod on the table. Tell the student which two rods make
part of the t-train. Without touching the rods, the student shares which rod
completes the t-train.

40
1.8 ODD AND EVEN

Is this number odd or even? The answer to that question is probably one
of the most important things a student needs to know about a number.
Parity (the state of being odd or even), shows up in a lot of places. We are
concerned with arithmetic. Odd and even numbers behave differently
when combined with other numbers.

In addition:
Odd + Odd = Even
Odd + Even = Odd
Even + Even = Even

In multiplication:
Even x Even = Even
Even x Odd = Odd
Odd x Odd = Even

Gattegno defines odd numbers as those rods whose length can be formed
by a white rod and two rods of the same color, or a white rod followed by
two more white rods. Even numbers have a length, which can be formed
by two rods of the same color.

EVEN

ODD

41
1.8 OD D A ND EVE N

A. Find the rods which can be made with a train of a white rod and then
two rods of the same color. Introduce the word odd for this group of rods.
Say: “We call these rods odd.”

B. The rest of the rods are even. Make trains for these rods using two rods
of the same color. Introduce the word even. Say: “We call these rods
even.”

C. Working with the odd rods, move the white rod and place it between a
pair of rods of the same color so that it is in the center. Is this new length
odd or even? Does the location of the white rod change whether it is odd
or even?

D. Introduce the word pair. Pick up two dark green rods. Say: “This is a
pair of dark green rods. We say pair when we mean two of the same
kind.”

E. Line up a pair of odd rods. Say: “When placed end to end, is the new
length odd or even? Does this new length make a pair? How do you
know?”

F. Place a pair of rods side by side with the white one on the bottom.
Say: “Are these odd or even?” Do the same with another pair and a white
rod, but this time put the white rod on the top.

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1.8 ODD AND EV E N

Join the two sets of rods. Say: “Are these joined rods odd or even? Does
each rod make a pair?”

G. Take a pair of dark green rods and add a white one. Say: “Do the dark
green rods make a pair? Does the white rod make a pair? It is the odd
man out.”

H. “What happens if you add another white one? Now both the white
ones and the dark green ones make a pair. Is this group odd or even?”

I. “What happens if you have a pair of red rods and take a red one away?
Is this single rod odd? Why or why not? Can you make this rod out of any
other rods? Are those rods a pair or a pair and a white rod?”

43