#70 Extend and Connect

Extend and Connect

Think of a surface that would fit the top of the towers. Which rules create curved surfaces and which non-curved planes? How about multiplication?

You can help older children model towers in spreadsheet software, Minecraft, or other computer platforms. Kids enjoy bridges between physical and virtual worlds, because multiple ways of building the same structure helps them to reach deeper understanding.

You can start with a math rule and then discover a surface it makes. Alternatively, invite kids to model objects with towers “by hand” – without rules! Can they use their tower grid to make a shape resembling a staircase, an elephant, a car, a house? This prepares kids for calculus and computer science ideas for approximating curves and surfaces.