Turning tasks into lessons and sequences: Connecting number patterns and place value
Peter Sullivan
Emeritus Professor
Monash University
Introduction
I was delighted to be invited to contribute to this resource collection in honour of Derek
Hurrell. Derek organised with Robyn Jorgensen for our project team to work in the
Kimberleys under the auspices of AISWA. Through this and subsequently, I had the honour
of working with Derek in a variety of contexts and it was always a delight to do so.
The basic argument in the following is that learning is prompted by important tasks. The
tasks then are best supported by structured lessons. Those lessons can, in turn, form the basis
of sequences, which allow for connected learning that caters to and challenges all students.
The following offers an example of an open-ended task (meaning one with more than one
possible response) and explains aspects of the task. There is then an outline of a possible
structure for lessons that incorporate tasks such as this. There are also some suggestions of
further tasks that can form a sequence of learning that not only consolidate the learning from
the original task but also extend the learning to different concepts and contexts.
An illustrative task
Ideal tasks put student thinking at the centre, are simply posed, are flexible in the level to
which they can be applied, have possibility not only of straightforward responses and but also
more challenging ones, and which invite students to explore useful, important mathematical
ideas. The task that is the focus of this contribution is as follows:
What might be the values of A, B, C and D?
A B C D 2020
The best (only?) way to appreciate the potential of a task is to do it. I invite readers to write
down, say, 10 different possible sets of values for A, B, C, and D and reflect on the thinking
necessary to give such a range of responses.
If, for example, the difference is 40, then the pattern is 1860, 1900, 1940, 1980, 2020. By
creating such a pattern, students come to see the importance of place value patterns, the way
this pattern bridges across 1900 and 2000 and the connection to addition and subtraction, in
this case, above and below the thousands. It is possible to create simple patterns by
subtracting 2 or 5 from the 2020. Some students might create a pattern by subtracting 1000
repeatedly. Pause and calculate the value of A in such a pattern (this is more challenging than
you might think!)
It is assumed that the task, as posed here, is suitable for Year 2 students in the second half of
the year or Year 3 students. In terms of a guide to expectations, version 9 of the Australian
Curriculum: Mathematics for Year 2 includes:
recognise, represent and order numbers to at least 1000 using physical and virtual
materials, numerals and number lines
And for Year 3
recognise, represent and order natural numbers using naming and writing conventions
for numerals beyond 10 000
The task, though, is highly flexible in that the target might be 110 for Year 1 students, 620 for
1
early Year 2, 10 020 for Year 4, 4 or 3.25 for Year 5 and 6, - 4.4 for junior secondary, or
4
12x – 8 for middle secondary students (again work out some possibilities for this one).
Using this task to create a lesson using the Launch, Explore, Summarise structure
It is helpful for planning and for students if teaching teams use a consistent lesson structure.
Sullivan et al. (2021) outline a particular instructional model that is abbreviated here to
Launch/Explore/Summarise (LES). The discussion of elements of the model draws heavily
on Smith and Stein (2019).
Launch
The Launch includes clarifying language, modelling the representation and fluency practice,
as well as presenting a Learning Intention (or some other device for ensuring students are
clear about the intended learning).
The language includes terms such as pattern, sequence, place value, thousands, values. To
clarify the number line representation, it would be possible to pose tasks like:
What are the values of A and C?
A 14 C 18 20
It is helpful if the fluency practice connects to the lesson in that the fluency can prompt the
type of thinking relevant to the lesson and the lesson can, in turn, prompt development of
fluent pattern counting. In this case, choral counting of number patterns would be ideal. The
Learning Intention might be:
We are exploring different possibilities
for creating number patterns represented on number lines
to help us learn to add and subtract.
The first line defines the “How”, the second line the “What” and the third line the “Why”.
Each of these are key elements of any statements of intended learning.
As part of the Launch, the task is posed without telling the students how to solve the problem.
They work that out for themselves.
Explore
In the Explore phase, teachers interact with students, extending their thinking, clarifying
misinterpretations, and identifying students who might make useful contributions at the
Summarise phase.
A key challenge for the teachers is to identify students who might need additional support to
engage. Even though the task has possible accessible responses, there may be students who
would welcome an enabling prompt. For example, the following might be posed:
What might be the values of A and B?
A B 220
There are now only two variables and the target number is simpler. The task is similar to the
original so, having completed the prompt, the students can then return to working on the first
one.
There may also be students who have completed a range of possibilities and are ready for
further challenge. Suitable extending prompts might be generic such as “Create a pattern
different from everyone else’s” or might be specific such as “What is the 10th (100th?) term
in your pattern?”
Another extending prompt might be:
What are the values of B, C and D? Why is there only one set of possibilities?
0 B C D 2020
It is noted that this is substantially more demanding than the original task in that students
need to work with fractional parts (half, then half of that half, etc.).
Summarise
In the Summarise phase, the teacher orchestrates discussion of students’ insights and
responses. As part of this, the role of the teacher is to revoice student contributions,
synthesise key ideas and give indication of where this learning is heading. A key step at the
planning stages is to articulate specifics of the intended learning that can inform the review of
student thinking. One mechanism for this is for teachers, at the planning stage, to create “I
can …” statements that can also serve to prompt student self-assessment. For example, the
statements might be (with the preamble “I can …”):
• Use number lines to represent numbers
• Create patterns that bridge across hundreds and thousands
• Create a variety of number patterns with the same target number
• Explain and justify my reasoning
Such statements can also be used to inform formative assessment.
Using learning sequences to consolidate the learning
A key step missing from many interpretations of the LES instruction model is the importance
of consolidating learning. Notionally, the lesson so far has initiated the learning. Now we
need to consolidate. The purpose is to help students think flexibly, to transfer learning
between contexts, and to build connections across different representations. In other words,
the instructional model is really LES, LES, LES, …
One source of consolidating tasks might be variations on the original task. For example,
What might be the values of the unknown numbers on this number line?
A B C D 1050 E G H
F
It might also be possible to extend the representation such as:
The numbers 1960 and 2020 are part of a skip counting sequence. What might be the
sequence? What might be the 10th term in your sequence? (give more than one
possible response)
Such questions require the same type of additive thinking as the original but use a more
abstract representation.
In terms of building the connections with addition, it is possible to frame questions like:
How might you go from 1960 to 3020 in 4 jumps (3 jumps) (2 jumps)?
1960 3020
In this case the jumps are not intended to be equal in size. It is possible, for example, for
students to jump forwards by 10s, 100s or 1000s, or alternately to bridge to the next key
decade, hundred, thousand, both of which are important for intuitive approaches to addition
and subtraction.
Another source of tasks might be closed examples for which students apply their knowledge
of patterns and fractions, such as
What are the values of B, C and D?
0 B C D 2000
In each of these consolidating suggestions, it is helpful to work through possibilities as part of
the planning process. Together, these additional tasks form a learning sequence.
Conclusion
There are a number of key planning and teaching ideas represented by the tasks and lesson
structure above. These are:
tasks which are challenging and which have more than one possible correct answer
create opportunities for student thinking, problem solving and reasoning;
ideally students are doing the thinking rather than following recipes;
having a consistent lesson structure gives students confidence of what is to come and
reduces their anxiety;
it is helpful if the lesson structure creates opportunities for group and class discussion
of insights;
teachers can plan tasks and prompts that cater for student differences;
further sequences of tasks that consolidate learning are critical because they enable
students to carefully build on prior learning and form meaningful conceptual
connections.
References
Smith, M. S., & Stein, M. K. (2019). 5 practices for orchestrating productive
mathematical
discussions. https://uwm.edu/mmtp/wp-content/uploads/sites/365/2019/05/5-
Practices-WMC-2019.pdf
Sullivan, P., Bobis, J., Downton, A., Feng, M., Hughes, S., Livy, S., McCormick, M.,
& Russo, J. (2021). An instructional model to support planning and teaching
student centred structured inquiry lessons. Australian Primary Mathematics
Classroom, 26(1), 9-12.
