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Hi ALL & Welcome to the Six Bricks Idea Centre.

Here, there are 75+ Ideas to get you going, there are 500+ more in the manuals in the kit.

Six Bricks are an amazing resource for all classrooms and can be used in the most creative and amazing ways.

Within the range there are:

Sets of Six Bricks: from single packs, to multi-packs & kits

Manuals full of activities

FREE Interactive Whiteboard Software

Activity Mats

Cut out bricks that can be magnetised for drywipe marker board

Various game boards and activities

Grobby Six Bricks Storybook

Online Training Course

For all your Six Bricks materials, just check out the shop at this link https://shop.sixbrickseducation.com/sixbricks.html  and we ship worldwide daily, supplying you with your tracking number once order is placed and dispatched.

If you have any questions, just email the team at support@sixbrickseducation.com

Enjoy browsing the many Six Bricks activities here in the idea centre.

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SIX BRICKS Powers Student Curriculum Engagement

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SIX BRICKS Powers Student Curriculum Engagement

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Every day we get even more excited about the potential of Six Bricks in school & classroom curriculums! Six Bricks support student -

Engagement

Participation

Cognitive processing

I am going to present just 4 examples covering ‘Vocabulary Development’, ‘Dictionary Skills’, ‘Mathematics’ and ‘Geography’ so that you can appreciate the power and flexibility of Six Bricks.

Look at the attached image and use your Six Bricks to answer each question in turn by sequencing your bricks into the correct order as required:

1. Place these parts of the body in the order they appear from the top of your head to your ankle (Vocabulary Development)

2. Place these words in the order they would appear in a dictionary. (Dictionary Skills)

3. Place these shapes in order from the smallest to greatest number of sides. (Mathematics)

4. Place the planets in order from nearest to furthest from the sun. (Geography)

Now just think about it – if your students were presented these or similar questions, wouldn’t they too be more fully participating, engaging and processing the information, concepts and ideas at hand.

If there was a teaching and learning resource that you could place into the hands of your students and that together you would use it every day, would you adopt it into your school?

Well, Ireland’s primary schools are piling into Six Bricks, placing them on the tables of their students and plugging them into curriculum daily.

Come on, join the movement and bring the excitement and power of Six Bricks to your school!

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Six Bricks are playful,

Six Bricks are fun,

Six Bricks are colourful,

Six Bricks are hands-on,

Six Bricks are exponential possibility,

Six Bricks are ever present,

Six Bricks are open-ended,

Six Bricks are never ending,

Six Bricks are visual,

Six Bricks are sociable,

Six Bricks are cognitively challenging,

Six Bricks are immersive,

Six Bricks are games,

Six Bricks are skills building,

Six Bricks are story,

Six Bricks are curriculum enabling,

Six Bricks are for all ages,

Six Bricks are inspiring,

Six Bricks are current,

Six Bricks are shape-shifters,

Six Bricks are perception,

Six Bricks are emotional,

Six Bricks are language skills,

Six Bricks are communication,

Six Bricks are dendrite fodder,

Six Bricks are mathematics,

Six Bricks are creative,

Six Bricks are colourful creatures,

Six Bricks are pattern,

Six Bricks are education,

Six Bricks are cooperative,

Six Bricks are physical,

Six Bricks are builders,

Six Bricks are worldwide,

Six Bricks are timeless,

Six Bricks are inclusive,

Six Bricks are loved,

Six Bricks are whatever you see.

Martin Pender @ Six Bricks Education

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There is simply an infinite number of ways that Six Bricks can be used in curriculum. There is not a singular, more had-working resource out there!

Here I am using it in Geography to drive engagement and to test knowledge of the capital cities, mountains, rivers, flags and well-known tourism landmarks of six countries.

When I say a country, they should hold up the matching colour brick. When I say a river, they hold up the brick for the country in which it is found. The same for mountains and well-known landmarks, perhaps even foods associated with a country. It can be anything!

In this case you can use an overhead projector to project the image on which you have inserted bricks. You can draw a chart and draw in or stick on 6 coloured brick rectangles etc. Whatever works!

Have you got your Six Bricks to hand? Go on – participate -

Here goes: we are focusing on RECTANGLES

1. Paris

2. Dublin

3. The Thames River

4. The Louvre

5. Flag is red and yellow

6. You will find Berlin here

7. The Apennine Mountain Range

8. This country’s flag is black, red and yellow.

9. Bull fighting is a national sport here

10. Vatican City

11. The Shannon River

12. The Sierra Nevada Mountains

13. This country’s flag is a trio of green, white and red

14. The Blackstairs Mountains

15. Madrid is the capital city

This is a very active, interactive and participatory activity. There is no hiding or disappearing below the radar for any student. All must sit up and answer by selecting and holding aloft the colour of brick that indicates the correct answer.

You see – children always have their Six Bricks on their tables at all times across the school day, ready to engage in activities such as these.

You can brick colour code ANY picture and get the children engaging e.g. it could be a skeleton of the human body in Science, a bricked timeline in History etc.

Extension: add circles in six colours and diamonds in six colours, as per image. Then say: oval Oslo, diamond Athens etc. Students hold up corresponding brick colours to show answers. Extension: When you say: 'Little Mermaid', children should be holding up light blue for Denmark. Teacher says, Jack, which shape is your light blue. Jack says: diamond teacher, because the 'Little Mermaid' is in Copenhagen harbour, the capital of Denmark' etc. Can you see how the incorporation of coding with Six Bricks drives 100% engagement by all. No such thing as asking a question here, a few hands going up, you asking one child for the answer, not really knowing what the other 29 were thinking! No - now when you ask a question, 30 bricks are held aloft and you can 'visibly see' the thought processes of ALL

What are your ideas for extending the concept into curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment?

For boxes of Six Bricks to be delivered anywhere in the world – visit with us on www.sixbrickseducation.com

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Fact: Six Bricks drives mathematical achievement.

In Ireland children spend 8 years in primary school, on average between the ages of 4.5 years to 12.5 years.

In the first year of school, which we call junior infants, their mathematics curriculum is made up of 6 STRANDS, 17 STRAND UNITS and 39 LEARNING OUTCOMES.

Six Bricks can be used to support the achievement of learning outcomes for most of the Reception Year strand units. Here’s an example for the strand NUMBER and the STRAND UNIT COUNTING with it’s 4 learning outcomes in Junior Infants / Reception.

Look how we use Six Bricks, and let me say, it is highly effective teaching and consequent learning when you utilise the CPA approach.

Strand: Number

Strand Unit: Counting:

The child should be enabled to count the number of objects in a set, 1-10 (In pairs, my students combine their 2 sets of six bricks to make 12. Now we use bricks to make all sorts of set sizes, count them, draw the collections and write the cardinal number for each set)

The child should be enabled to count objects, pushing them aside while counting (My children Count bricks – set of 5 or 6 or set of 10 or 12. They throw a random collection out on the table and then count them, pushing each brick aside while counting)

The child should be enabled to count regular arrays or rows before random groups (My children achieve this using six bricks or 12 bricks. The line up 5 bricks for example, and count by pushing each out in turn i.e. touch, say next number in the count, push aside….)

The child should be enabled to use number rhymes and stories (Six in the bed and the little one said……… in this case line up six bricks as teddies and each time they roll over, one falls over the edge of the table….. OR 6 green bottles sitting on the wall……. Again, combine sets of bricks to build a brick wall, pretend the bricks are bottles, stand six on the wall and sing the song together. Every time they sing ‘if one little bottle should accidentally fall, there’d be….’ – knock off a bottle. Children love this.)

Every Reception / Year 1 Class in every school in the world should be plugging the structured learning materials that are Six Bricks, into their mathematics curriculums.

Make Six Bricks part of how you and your school do mathematics.

Join the learning revolution!

Note: if you need 30 sets of bricks, check this out, we fly them out to you with DHL: https://shop.sixbrickseducation.com/30-sets-of-6-bricks.html

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It's the big day! Grobby Six Bricks goes to visit Granny. As per usual she has made a six bricks layered chocolate birthday cake for Grobby ............

QUESTION: How many differences can you spot between the two pictures?

NOTE: The 'spot the differences' is one of the activities from the 'Grobby Six Bricks - Farmyard Adventure' story book which can be read and ordered from here, with distribution worldwide https://shop.sixbrickseducation.com/grobby-six-bricks-farmyard-adventure.html

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The Ultimate Six Bricks Kit for Schools 

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The Ultimate Six Bricks Kit for Schools 

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The absolute complete kit for just €299

Includes:

• 32 Packs of Bricks

• 32 x Crossing the B-Line Mats

• 32 x A4 Answer Coding Rockets

• 8 x Teaching Manuals (500+ Activities)

• 1 x FREE IWB Software

• 23 x Curriculum Activity Mats

• Plus many other items

VISIT Sixbrickseducation.com to order your kit  OR CALL the office in Ireland on 00 353 53 92 30344

Direct Link: https://shop.sixbrickseducation.com/the-ultimate-class-kit-for-six-bricks.html

Bring Six Bricks to your school today!

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Learning Objective: the Six Bricks could be the stimulus to a lesson where students will be able to practice mindfulness of emotions and breathing techniques to promote calmness.

Procedure:

Gather all children on the carpet in a circle, or perhaps spaced out, seated or standing

Close their eyes and ask, how are you feeling right now.

Have 3 or 4 students respond, naming the feelings, perhaps write words up on the drywipe marker board under the title ‘FEELINGS’.

Now throw a RED brick onto the floor, and ask the children to think of a feeling that might be suggested by the brick colour.

Throw in a YELLOW, again ask for a feeling that they might associate.

Now play ‘The Feelings Song’: https://youtu.be/-J7HcVLsCrY

After watching the video, ask the children what feelings came up in the video and to hold up a brick that represents that colour.

Teacher assigns an emotion to each brick colour and children must remember these associations - e.g. red = anger; yellow = happiness; blue = sadness; orange = fear; green = confusion etc.

Play the song again and wherever a feeling is mentioned, they hold a brick in their right hand.

Extension: Teacher holds up any one brick in turn and the children have to show that expression or feeling in their body language.

Conclusion: all lie down on the carpet and teacher guides them through a mindfulness breathing exercise to calm and relax the body.

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This is a simple game that can be played in pairs or threes. The focus is on second language learning of colours, in this case we are teaching the colours ‘as gaeilge’ – gaelic language here in Ireland.

Green = glas

Red = dearg

Orange = oráiste

Light Blue = gorm éadrom

Dark Blue = dúghorm

Yellow = buí

Objective:

We are learning the Irish language words for each of the six colours.

Be the first to stack all your Six Bricks into a tower, end on end.

Materials:

A dice with the six colours and the six Irish words (customise an existing dice or make one out of cardboard. Let the kids make it, a lesson in itself!)

A set of Six bricks for each player.

Procedure

Each person takes a turn to roll the dice.

Call out the colour that turns up, in GAELIC language.

If you have that colour brick, then add it to your tower, if you don’t, then ‘pass’.

The first to build their Six Bricks tower is the winner.

NOTE: you decide what the second language is in your country and customise the game accordingly.

If you need to buy sets of Six Bricks, Teacher Manuals or Activity mats – just visit www.sixbrickseducation.com

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Grobby Six Bricks loves to go on adventures, with a pack of Six Bricks strapped onto his back.

Get your students to engage their imaginations and to think of all the places he likes to go, things he likes to do and the fun he has?

Grobby always has his six bricks with him. Sometimes he even uses them to solve problems, like the time when Henrietta Hen fell into Wild River and was rescued by Grobby, who made a raft out of his Six Bricks, paddled out and safely brought her back to the river bank.

Task: can your students write and illustrate their own Grobby stories e.g. Grobby Goes Fishing or Grobby Rescues Robin or Grobby & The Storm or Grobby Saves Sport’s Day at School or make up your own titles.

Use Six Bricks to springboard your students into oral language, imaginative response, writing and illustration.

Share: to inspire them in their journey, why not share the Grobby story here: https://youtu.be/VEpa7dAVpc8

To make it real: tell them that there is a Six Bricks audience here on Facebook with whom you are going to share some of the finished writing and illustrations.

Happy adventuring!

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Activity steps:

Build a model where you cannot see how the whole bricks are placed, as in the picture below.

Make sure each child has the same types of bricks as you used to make the model.

Show the model to the group only from one angle. This means the children have to figure out how the bricks are placed even though they cannot see it from all angles.

After finishing building, let the children look at the model from all angles and then ask them:

Why was it hard to build this model?

How did you figure out how to build the model?

Tips and ideas

Since this activity is a bit difficult, start very simple with only a few bricks, and then make it more difficult over time.

You can also let the children to do this activity in pairs or small groups, when one child builds the model and the rest try to copy.

Create 3D perspective models. Photograph them from various angles using your phone camera. Create and print cards with the models on them for the students to solve, or project them onto the IWB.

For all you bricks and materials, visit www.sixbrickseducation.com

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Activity steps:

Ask the children to each find a blue 2*4 brick, a red 2*4 brick and a green 2*4 brick.

Then secretly build a model with those 3 bricks and keep them covered so that the children cannot see what you have built.

Describe to the children how you built the model. The children should then try to build it in the same way. • The children have to listen carefully, and not ask any questions.

Show your model and let the children compare it to theirs – discuss and share findings.

Ask the children:

Was it difficult? Why?

What was hard in listening and then building?

Tips and ideas

Once the children are familiar with the activity, they can do it in pairs, with one child describing the model and the other building.

For all you bricks and materials, visit www.sixbrickseducation.com

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The following is a Six Bricks inspired poetry session.

Learning Objectives:

to talk about funfairs, focusing on new words, adjectives and verbs

to stimulate oral language and fire imaginations

to write a single communal class poem together

Procedure:

For this activity, choose a location in which to set and inspire your poem. A location with possibilities such as a funfair, circus, beach, town centre, zoo etc.

Use my own ‘Funfair’ poem below to model the technique.

Begin with an image of a funfair from the past or present to launch the discussion, questioning and story, out of which will come the vocabulary, imaginative ideas and ultimately the poem.

Following on from the language lesson, explain that everyone must choose an outrageously mad thing that they did at the funfair, and it must be inspired by a SIX BRICKS colour. It could also be something simple and normal!

Give the children time to come up with one thing he/she did at the funfair that relates to a brick colour. When all are ready, go around the room, ask the question:

Jack, when you went to the funfair, tell me what did you do? …. Jack holds up a GREEN brick and says ……… see poem.

Continue calling on other kids and recording their contributions into the big class poem, which can be written up, illustrated and displayed for the enjoyment of all!

The Funfair

Jack, when you went to the funfair, tell me what did you do?

I drank an ice cold, slime green, refreshing slime juice!

Ann, when you went to the fun fair, tell me what did you do?

I rode the Red Thunderbird rollercoaster so high!

Enky, when you went to the fun fair, tell me what did you do?

I caught seven orange goldfish, but one of them died!

Mathilda, when you went to the fun fair, tell me what did you do?

I bought a huge helium dark blue looney balloon!

Mary, when you went to the fun fair, tell me what did you do?

I lay in the sunshine under a light blue sky!

Roberto, when you went to the fun fair, tell me what did you do?

I fished a yellow duckie from the duckie water rapids!

Oh, there’s lots to do at a funfair!

Olivia, ………………

I ………………………

Tom, ………………………..

I …………………………………………..

Jacinta, …………………………

I ……………………………………..

Joshua, ………………………

I ……………………………………………..

Immelda, ………………………………

Donald, ………………………………

Oh, there’s lots to do at a funfair!

Can this be called a poem? What are the identifiable features? Is there repetition? Is there technique? Is there colour in the verses? Can you see the colours of the SIX BRICKS in the verses? Is there fun with language? Is there imagination? Etc. etc.

As you can see, this poem could go on forever ………… because ……. THERE’S LOTS TO DO AT A FUNFAIR!”

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Reception Class

Maths Strand Unit: Matching

Learning objectives:

1. The student will be able to match equivalent and non-equivalent sets using one-to-one correspondence (add another collection of objects to your 6 bricks e.g. 7 colours of compare bears. Now, each child has 6 bricks + 7 bears. Ask loads of questions: Are there more bricks or more bears? How many more? - solve using one-to-one correspondence, to find the leftover set etc.)

2. The student will be able to match pairs of identical objects in one-to-one correspondence: (Match and pair bricks according to colour e.g. have two sets of Six Bricks, one set with all 6, and 1 set that has only 5, e.g. yellow missing. The question for the students is : do we have two of every colour? etc. )

3. The student will be able to match pairs of related objects in one-to-one correspondence e.g. putting out knives and forks, buttoning coats i.e. buttons to button holes, putting lids on pans. (Incorporate the bricks as follows e.g.  let the bricks become chairs or benches in the park. Give each group of children 7 bears. Has every bear got a bench to sit on for the picnic etc.?

4. The student will be able to match equivalent and non-equivalent sets to establish the concept of more than, less than, enough, as many as (form sets from available materials e.g. a set of 6 bricks,  a set of 7 bears, a set of 5 insects. Now you can ask lots of questions, make observations and generate some comparative statements with the children e.g. there are more bricks than insects. How would you investigate the truth of this statement? Are there more bears or more insects? How many more? Make a statement that uses the word ‘fewer’? etc. etc.

Six Bricks can play an important supporting resource role in a large number of mathematics lessons; helping children to structure, manipulate, reason, make visible and verbalise their mathematical thoughts and thinking processes.

Now that’s what I call quality mathematics teaching and what I would look for as an inspector to a school.

More on www.sixbrickseducation.com

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The crossing the B-Line Mat can be used to practice, revise and embed the tables facts, which are the bedrock on which so many mathematical skills are built.

Accurate, speedy recall of tables facts is not just important, it is crucial.

The Crossing B-Line mat can be used every day when working on Tables Facts to drive MASTERY.

NOTE to all not familiar with the B-Line Mat

Interpreting the lines: On the mat we have 5 lines, starting on the bottom which is 1, then 2, the red line is 3, then 4 and the top line is 5.

How it works for these activities: In this instance, you place the brick on the ‘units’ part of the answer e.g. if I say red to 8x9, then the answer is 72, you place the red brick on 2 (the units part). If I say orange to (4x9) – 2, the you place the orange on 4, because 4x9=36 – 2 = 34 (4 is units).

If you haven’t got a B-Line A3 Mat, then grab a sheet of paper and draw 5 lines on it, about 4cm apart and make the centre one red.

So – if my students are working on three, six and nine times tables, then I will prepare some B-Line Mat activities to work on these facts, tagging a subtraction onto some so that I keep all units in the 1 to 5 range.

Start with all 6 bricks off the mat.

Here Goes………………are you ready?

Green to 4x3

Red to 5x3

Orange to 4x6

Dark Blue to 5x9

Light Blue to (6x6) – 2

Yellow (1x9) – 8

Green to (4x9) -3

Red to (8x6) -5

Orange to (9x6) – 1

Light Blue to (2x6) -11

Dark Blue to (10X9) -7

Green to (9x9)

If you have worked out all the answers, and moved the bricks accordingly, the answer is as follows:

ANSWER: Orange, Red and Dark Blue are on the RED Middle Line, with Green, Yellow and Light Blue on Line 1. (see image attached)

I did this earlier today and to quote a teacher:

"This is an absolutely amazing and engrossing methodology. I can see how you can adapt to every set of tables facts. My brain is on fire from the cognitive load. Oh my gosh, when teachers discover this, it will sweep across the world, and into every classroom. "

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Task sheets are ideal for extending Six Bricks into the formal mathematics school curriculum, as we are doing here in Ireland.

After hands-on, playful, teacher-directed activities with sets of Six Bricks, the children would be presented with a photocopied worksheet to complete individually or in pairs.

This worksheet is available as a PDF, just email me at mpender@cpdcollege.com and I’ll email the PDF version back to you, it’s only an image below.

Learning Objectives of the Lesson: the children will be able to -

Count sets of bricks to 6

Draw and count specified sets of bricks to 6

Match the correct number to the correct set of bricks (cardinality)

Write numbers 1 to 6 for each set of bricks

Procedure:

Start with hands-on concrete exploration activity.

Have 6 flashcards with a single numeral 1 to 6 on each. Shuffle the cards. Select and hold up the flashcard. Children must set out that number of bricks on their table and say the number.

Repeat a number of times.

In groups of 4, let children take the role of the teacher in groups and call out numbers, with the group counting out the equivalent sets.

Task: photocopy and give each child a copy of the worksheet. Read the instructions with the children. Do an example on the board (model). Now let the children complete their own task sheet.

Task is to:

“Draw the correct amount of bricks in each box. Colour the bricks. Write each number 6 more times on the line.”

The children will have to draw the correct number of bricks in each box according to the number indicated. This will require number recognition, drawing, counting, checking and matching equivalent sets to equivalent numbers. They will also practice copying and writing the number.

What a rich little mathematics learning activity, all centred around Six Bricks.

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There is no end to the application of Six Bricks within the primary school curriculum.

This Six Bricks themed pack of cards for just €2.49 enables your students to play 16+ different card games as they play, socialise, have fun and learn together.

The cards come on two A3 gloss laminated 350 gm cards ready for you to cut out, as seen in the image below.

There are just so many ways these cards can be used in every early years / Reception / Learning Support Room.

To READ all about how to use the cards, or to purchase, click HERE: https://shop.sixbrickseducation.com/the-matching-pairs...

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Exercising Visual Memory Skills with Six Bricks

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Exercising Visual Memory Skills with Six Bricks

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What is visual memory?

Visual memory is the ability to remember things seen visually.

Where visual memory is weak, difficulties may include:

Learning to read quickly and efficiently

Copying off the board

Recalling a series of instructions

Remembering where items have been left

Organisational skills

Copying from dictation – particularly in the correct sequence

Activity ideas to promote visual memory and visual closure:

1. Memory tray 1: have a number of items on a tray/table in front of the child e.g. 5 of the Six Bricks. Allow the child to view them – then cover the items and ask the child to name the 5 colours. Repeat for other combinations

2. Memory tray 2: place 3 bricks and two other small objects on a tray in front of the child. Allow the child to view them – then cover the items and ask the child to name them. Repeat for other combinations. (FIGURE 1 in image)

3. Have the child turn around and look away. Place the Six Bricks in an arrangement on the table e.g. all 6 in a row, with every second brick standing up vertically i.e. 3 horizontal and 3 vertical. Allow the child to turn around and look at the collection for 5 seconds. Now turn back. You change one item e.g. place one of the vertical bricks into the horizontal. Now the child turns back and tries to identify what is different. Repeat for other combinations. (FIGURE 2 & 2A in image)

4. Line up 6 bricks on the table in front of the child. Ask the child to turn around. Remove one brick. Child turns back and identifies the change. (FIGURE 3 & 3A in image)

5. Line up 6 bricks on the table in front of the child. Have the child carefully look at them. Ask the child to turn around and then you shift the position of one object. Ask the child to return the objects to the correct position/order. Repeat for other arrangements.

Extension: once the children have done this a few times, let them play in pairs, one taking on the role of the teacher and the other, the student.

Additionally, the Six Bricks Perceptual Skills Manual contains exercises that help exercise visual memory skills.

Further, make up your own activities for to exercise and strengthen their visual memory skills.

For bricks, books and activities, visit the international site at www.sixbrickseducation.com

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Build Mastery of Tables Facts with Six Bricks

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Build Mastery of Tables Facts with Six Bricks

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Accurate recall and mastery of the 144 addition, 144 subtraction, 144 multiplication and 144 division tables facts is fundamental to success in mathematics.

We have developed the Six Bricks approach, whereby students can test and self-correct themselves on all 576 tables facts.

Ideal for school or home.

Students take an A3 Table Facts card, select a table, code the rocket with the brick answer sequence and then correct by comparing their sequence to the Master Correction Sheet.

Watch the video to see a demonstration.

Packs of 25 A3 Addition, 25 A3 Subtraction and 25 A3 Correction Cards are available for €69 from Six Bricks Education Shop (75 A3 Gloss laminated cards in pack)

Packs of 25 A3 Multiplication, 25 A3 Division and 25 A3 Correction Cards are available for €69 from Six Bricks Education Shop (75 A3 Gloss laminated cards in pack)

If your class are learning tables facts, then equip them to self-practice, self-correct and to aim for & build mastery.

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Real Problem-Solving & Calculating with Six Bricks

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Real Problem-Solving & Calculating with Six Bricks

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Children need to be able to perceive, calculate and problem-solve with large numbers across the various units of measurement in mathematics.

For sure, Six Bricks has a role to play here. The bricks become part of the visualisation and working-out process. They support group mathematical discussions / maths talk, while injecting an element of fun into the problem-solving and calculation activities.

The problems cannot be solved without the bricks, as you need to extrapolate some numbers using small amounts of bricks before using that information to calculate the answer, the big number!

Here are some examples for incorporating Six Bricks into calculating with length, area, weight, time, capacity/volume and money.

You can adjust the number ceiling and level of challenge to fit your class.

Can you work these out?

Length: From my front door to the door of the post office in the village is 2.246km. How many bricks, end to end would that be?

Area: My kitchen measures 4m X 3.5m. How many bricks will it take to tile it?

Weight: If John who is 45kg sat on one side of the seesaw, how many bricks would be in the brick cube on the other side to balance him?

Time: How many bricks could you pick 1-by-1 off a floor and put in a bin in 1 hour?

Volume: How many bricks would fit in a trailer measuring 2.4m Long X 1.2m Wide X 1m High

Money: Bricks can be bought in the following quantities and prices: 1 for €0.10, 10 for €0.90, 100 for €8.00, 1000 for €60.00. How much will 129,365 bricks cost me?

Have you purchased Six Bricks materials and incorporated them into your curriculum to support teaching, learning and assessment?

Visit the international Six Bricks shop at: www.sixbrickseducation.com

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Delighted to announce the availability of our new Six Bricks number line to 10. The intervals between numbers accommodate a full Lego Duplo brick.

It is ideal for all number work in classes R / Year 1 / Infants.

Designed for hands on learning using the Concrete Pictorial Abstract approach. Children can count forward and back while inserting bricks, add 2 sets or 3 sets together, count on, count back, find missing parts of set, work on ordinal position etc. see link for ideas.

(There are sets of addition bonds on the mat itself for the children to write down, carry out and record answers)

A must for all junior classrooms where doing maths well counts!

These number lines measure 670mm X 240mm, are printed on durable gloss laminate card and fold in the middle.

Ideal for individual, pair or group work.

Read all about it and order your number lines here: https://shop.sixbrickseducation.com/my-first-number-line...

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Teachers – this idea is for everyone, whether you are a Reception or Year 10 teacher! ALL classrooms in ALL schools, ALL around the world need this approach!

Scenario: in the classroom, we call out a mental artithmetic question. How many of the 25 students will engage the question? Fewer still will volunteer to answer? BUT, at the end you only hear ONE answer from ONE student! What were the others thinking? .. or were they thinking?

HELLO the Six Bricks approach where ALL can Excel @ Mental Arithmetic.

Procedure:

1. All children have their Six Bricks on the table.

2. Create an Excel Sheet with brick colours and put numbers beside the bricks according to the number level of the students e.g. Set A is for my Reception/Year 1 students where we are working within the number range 5 to 10.

3. When I call a question, you have to hold up the colour brick that matches the answer!

4. Are you ready?

The Mental Arithmetic Questions:

What is the total of 4+3? (if child works out correctly then he/she hold up YELLOW)

If I had two groups of 5, how many would I have? if child works out correctly then he/she hold up Dark Blue)

I had 8C and spent 2C on a lollipop. How much had I left? if child works out correctly then he/she hold up ORANGE)

What is the total of 2+1+2? (what did you hold up?)

I had nine 1c coins. I lost one. How many had I left? (Ans the answer is …….8….RED……)

What is 6 plus 3? (Yep, light blue)

The trick is to create an Excel or Chart for the wall or just do it on a drywipe marker board and add magnetised colour paper squares to your six answers.

The sky is the limit in applications, keep changing those numbers.

In picture B, we are working on multiplication X 5 with Year 3.

What is 8 times 5?

I have 6 X 5c coins. How much have I?

What is 10 x 5, subtract 5?

You get the idea. The sky is the limit!

I mean, look at B, Year 8:

2X + 2 = 62, what is ‘x’? (did you get ………….dark blue?)

2y – 10 = 100, what is ‘y’? (........... are you holding up yellow?)

Teachers around the globe, if you want to engage ALL your students, have ALL students work out ALL problems and ALL show their answer/thinking, then use the “Six Bricks – Excel @ Mental Arithmetic” approach.

Note: if you have an IWB in your classroom, then use Excel spreadsheets to create and store your files, as they are easily created and retrieved.

If you need my Excel just drop me an email to mpender@cpdcollege.com and I’ll send it back. (you can also just use the drywipemarker board or charts on walls)

(if you need bricks & books: https://shop.sixbrickseducation.com/30-sets-of-6-bricks.html)

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As teachers, we are tasked to develop childrens’ oral language skills i.e. listening, speaking and communication skills.

Here’s a little Six Bricks activity that does all 3 at the same time! This activity can be differentiated to match the level of the children you teach. Keep the construction simple for R/Year 1, and increasingly more challenging the older they are. Find their 'zone of proximal development'.

Activity steps

Prepare a model using basic bricks and place it somewhere in the room where the children cannot see it.

Divide the children into groups of 4–6, and ask them to pick one person from the group – the communicator.

The communicator goes to see how the model is built and returns to explain it to his/her group.

The group should try to build according to the instructions, and the communicator is not allowed to build and has to keep his/her hands behind his/her back.

The communicator can go back and forth several times to check and remember details.

Continue until the groups have finalised the model, then bring it out and compare whether it is the same.

Ask the groups:

1. What was easy or difficult about remembering the model?

2. Which “tricks” did you use to remember?

3. What was it like trying to follow the instructions?

4. How can you help each other in the next round?

Tip: If you want to challenge the groups further, ask them to swap communicator after half the time has passed.

Challenge Extension: keep count of how many times the communicator had to return to the model for a look? The group whose communicator makes the fewest trips is the winner.

Plenary Discussion: what does great communication require?

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Draw 6 bricks on the drywipe marker board, colour each and assign a number e.g. 1 to 6 as per image. You could also draw the bricks on a chart and display on the wall at the front of the room, or draw them up in Excel and display on an interactive whiteboard. Whatever works for your situation.

Procedure:

Call a number and students must build that total using their choice of numbers.

Always ask questions to elicit if answers are correct and the child’s thinking:

Teacher says - Give me 9:

Teacher: “John, what colours have you?”

John: “I have a yellow and an orange.”

Teacher: “Why yellow + orange?”

John: “Teacher, because 6+3 make 9.”

Teacher says - Give me 5

Teacher: “Jacinta, how did you make 5?”

Jacinta: “Orange and Red.

Teacher: “Correct, has anyone a different combination that makes 5 altogether?” etc.

Teacher says - Give me 14

Teacher: “Mary, Jacinta has a yellow, red, dark blue and green. Is she correct?”

Extension 1: let a child ask the questions for a change.

Extension 2: let them play ‘GIVE ME’ in groups of 4, rotating the role of teacher / caller.

Extension 3: children could be asked to stick 3 random bricks together, draw them, colour them and record the total beside the stack. Draw and record 5 different stacks of 3.

Extension 4: scale the ceiling of the numbers according to the number experience of the children e.g. the 6 numbers could be 30, 45, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90

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There are hundreds of mental arithmetic maths activities that you can do with Six Bricks and the ‘Crossing the B-Line Mat’ from simple addition to multiplication, division and so much more.

Here I outline a simple addition / subtraction activity.

See image of mat here: https://shop.sixbrickseducation.com/crossing-the-b-line...

Procedure:

Start with the 6 Bricks located in the 6 blank boxes, located off the lines.

Imagine a vertical line down the centre of the mat – lines 1 to 5 are on the left and lines 6 to 10 are to the right (and you thought you could only see 5 lines!)

As you call a sum, the children work it out and move the required brick to that line e.g. if yellow is to 4+3, then the child should place yellow on 7, which is the second line up on the right.

OK - mats out, bricks in holding blank boxes, ARE YOU READY? - let's go.........

Dark blue to 9-5

Red to 2+3

Light Blue to 7+1

Dark Blue to 9-7

Red to 5+4

Orange to 8-7

Yellow to 4+6

Orange to 6-3

Light Blue to 7+3

Green to 2+6

Orange to 7-3

Yellow to 4+2

Orange to 10-3

Red to 1+1

Green to 3+7

Light Blue to 8-4

Yellow to 5+2

Green to 5-3

Light Blue to 10-3

If children have worked out all their answers correctly, then ALL bricks end up on the second line

What you did above is just 1 of the 300+ activities from the 2 books.

Book 1 https://shop.sixbrickseducation.com/crossing-the-b-line...

Book 2 https://shop.sixbrickseducation.com/crossing-the-b-line...

Where ever you are in the world, If you need materials, just visit and order at https://shop.sixbrickseducation.com/

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There are many classrooms that have lots of playful learning materials, with Six Bricks being a further addition.

In these classrooms, Six Bricks can be combined in clever ways with existing materials to increase the learning opportunities.

In the picture below, I have combined and set out a particular set of objects and we are going to use our positional language to say where things are relative to others.

Teacher asks: “Mary, where is the orange teddy?”

Now, there is not just one answer here. There are many many correct answers here, and probing will elicit them.

The orange teddy is sitting on the yellow brick.

The orange teddy is beside the blue dragonfly.

The orange teddy is to the left of the yellow teddy.

The orange teddy is directly behind the green teddy who is sitting on an orange brick, beside a light blue brick that is all alone!

You get the idea – set up the scenario for the language functions on which you want to work.

Where is the yellow spider? ( what are all the possible answers?)

Why is there nothing on the light blue brick? (young children will speculate wildly: it's too hot to sit on OR a dragon came by and ate the pink teddy and ladybird OR .........)

Extension: place insects under bricks; place bears behind, beside and in front of bricks; sandwich a fly between two bricks, ..... above all, have fun, fun, fun.

Allow the children in groups to set out pictures with 6B & objects, and ask & answer questions.

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Poetry in Bricks or is it Bricks in Poetry?

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Poetry in Bricks or is it Bricks in Poetry?

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Objective: To sequence the 6 bricks colours to support a recall of a poem by reading or recitation.

Breakfast Menu

Little jolly Robin went hunting one day,

Down amongst the daffodils, still blooming in May!

Hopping along the riverbank, so dark and so cold,

Out popped blackbird, oh so big and so bold!

Both chirped and chatted about trees to explore,

As a hungry buzzard circled, still looking for more!

......... by Martin Pender

OK - won't be shortlisted for the Nobel prize for poetry, but sure it's all about having a go and having some fun. That's what I tell the kids. Do it for yourself and do it for fun.

Each of the Six Bricks can be used to represent a line or an image in the poem. As the poem is read or recited or performed, children choose a brick to represent key points in the telling, which will help recall the plot.

We can also use the visual colours of bricks to recall the plot of stories etc. In our minds we associate images to the bricks and lay them out in a sequence as we listen to the story or poem. We then recall the story or poem by ‘reading the brick sequence’.

In the poem above, as per image, I have chosen a red for robin, yellow for daffodils, dark blue for the cold river, the orange beak of blackbird, green trees and the clear blue sky with the buzzard circling on the thermal up currents.

Go on – can you or your students write a six-line six bricks inspired rhyme?

Hundreds more ideas in my training course on www.sixbrickstraining.com

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Game Rules:

2 players, each player starts with 6 Bricks

One player has warm colours (2Y, 2R, 2O), the other cold colours (2G, 2B, 2LB)

Winner removes all opponent’s bricks

Each player places 2 bricks on the warm and cold squares

Each roll the dice - highest number starts

Player 1 adds 2 bricks to any squares (not on logo)

Player 2 adds 2 bricks to any squares (not on logo)

Repeat again so all 6 bricks are placed

Player can move 1 brick to any open square (including logo square)

No brick can move diagonally

You take an opponent’s brick if you trap that brick between 2 of your bricks - with your move

If, after removing a brick - you can trap another brick by moving the same brick again - you may go again

Game ends when your opponent has only 1 piece left

Link to A3 laminated Game Board which contains 'TRAP' on one side and 'LAST BRICK STANDING' on the reverse - just €0.95: https://shop.sixbrickseducation.com/last-brick-standing-trap.html

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In school, teachers are always looking out for ways to gel desired learner outcomes into rich learning tasks that engage the students.

Here’s another such task inspired by Six Bricks!

Objectives:

To imagine and create a character from a single brick

To name and dress the character

To detail a mission that the character carries out

To share your finished work with your audience

This is Groblet, who likes to dress in natural seasonal colours, usually selected from the great outdoors. Groblet and friends are all around us, often hiding in plain sight.

Because they choose seasonal colours, they often blend into the background of open fields and small gardens, into wild hedges, trees, bushes and flower beds. There could be a Groblet watching you right now, can you not see him? You will have to look more closely!

The mission of every Groblet is to help clean up the environment of the trash that is carelessly discarded by mindless humans; paper and plastics and all sorts of wrappers and wrapping! They do a lot of unseen work, but we must help too.

Groblet’s mantra for all kids out there regarding the great outdoors and nature: ‘see it – pick it – bin it’.

Leave no trace!

After a day of picking, Groblet likes nothing better than to lie in a warm sunny spot on the banks of a cool crystal clear stream and soak in the surrounding sounds of nature.

(Orla, a sixth class student, found this a fun, open ended task that drew on many skills: imagination & visualisation, arts & crafts, technology & camera work, writing & story telling ………. And so much more. This was a rich learning experience and the learning outcomes were achieved).

Note: kids will come up with hundreds of alternative characters and missions. Just give them the chance to surprise you.

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Are you ready with your Six Bricks?

Can you match the country to it’s capital city?

Put your six brick colours in order in a stack from top to bottom, so that the capital colour matches the countries 1 to 6.

How did you do?

How else can you use this technique in curriculum, using Excel sheets and an interactive whiteboard?

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In the Reception/Infants/ Year 1 class, the children can use their Six Bricks to illustrate and animate the story of the song as they sing along.

Here, three girls from the senior class are helping out and singing along with Gayle, showing some actions to the song ‘Five Little Ducks’.

In an R/Yr 1 class this song would be supporting such maths concepts as: the number count sequence to 5, the story of 5, one less each time, counting down / back etc.

What other songs could children sing and add Six Bricks actions to?

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This is Grobby Six Bricks who is off on an adventurous spring walk here in Ireland.

I wonder what will Grobby see?

Who will Grobby meet?

How is Grobby feeling this spring day?

When Grobby gets stuck, how will Grobby use that Six Bricks Pack to get out of trouble?

These are just some of the many questions the students will ponder as they ‘Think, Draw & Write’. (Think/Draw/Write is an approach that works very well with R/Yr1/Yr2/Yr3)

The format for this writing workshop is to think about Grobby hiking around the garden / countryside, draw the picture / vision or set of pictures.  Next, they write a little story, their writing feeding off the story drawings.

Can you and your students write a Grobby Six Bricks story?

Check out www.sixbrickseducation.ie for more ideas, materials and training.

(Note: for those of you new to Six Bricks - GROBBY gets the name from the brick stack colour sequence on Grobby's back!)

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The Six Bricks can represent 6 coin values in this case 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 20c and 50c. You can adapt for your own currency wherever you are in the world.

Whereas it is difficult to have coins for everybody, the bricks are always there on the tables ready to take on any role!

The problems can be for Year 7+ or reduced to numbers from 1 to 10 for R/Yr1.

In this instance, I am creating a shopping challenge for children who can add and subtract to 100. (Yr2)

Procedure:

Decide the ceiling level of mental arithmetic for your class.

Assign notes / coinage to the Six Bricks. Now choose 6 products for the shop and price them to work with the money values assigned to your bricks so that children can show prices and give change using bricks.

Make a poster for the wall or use your computer and graphics to do it in Excel and project using your poster using your interactive whiteboard.

Questions: click bricks together and hold up to show:

1. The price of the eraser

2. The price of the pencil

3. The price of the stapler

4. The price of the stamper

5. The price of the highlighter

6. The price of the calculator

Giving Change

1. If I gave the shop keeper 20c for the eraser, hold up the change I got back?

2. If I gave the shop keeper 40c for the pencil, what change did I receive?

3. When I bought the stapler, what change did I get from €1?

Other calculations:

1. How much will the highlighter and eraser cost me?

2. I gave the shopkeeper all my bricks except green, what did I buy?

Do you appreciate how active and interactive this exercise is? Everybody is engaging and working out the problems and holding up the answer. There are manipulatives to support visualisation and working out. It is way more engaging, meaningful and productive than a low-level worksheet!

How will you adapt and use this approach in your classroom, with your unique students and at their level of functioning?

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GROBBY Mental Arithmetic & Problem Solving

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GROBBY Mental Arithmetic & Problem Solving

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When using Six Bricks for mental arithmetic, then it is important that all have them in the same colour sequence. Remember our character and story about GROBBY. You can have a big poster size GROBBY on the wall and children have their own GROBBY stack on the table as per image below.

We can use Six Bricks at every class age and stage for fun engaging active mental arithmetic problem solving. I have just 5 of a million possible examples below.

I want you to work out and write down the answers to the following 5 questions. Use your 6 bricks GROBBY to help you. You will come to appreciate how the bricks support thinking, mathematical reasoning and problem solving.

Please work out the following little problems for yourself and write down your answers, before checking.

Don’t look yet, but I have inserted the answers below to support self-correction.

1. If each brick is worth one more than the previous, yellow is 6, what is the value of green?

2. If each brick is worth 3 more than the previous, red is 21, what is the value of dark blue?

3. If Y is 5 and G is 25, and the same value separates each brick, what is the value of each brick in the sequence?

4. If Orange is 1000 and the difference between each adjoining brick colour is 110, what is the value of each brick?

5. If light blue is10 and each brick is 2 more than the previous, what is the total value of the brick stack?

How did you do?

Is this a good way to do maths? Why?

Answers: 1 (11), 2 (12), 3 (5,9,13,17,21,25), 4 (1220, 1110, 1000, 890, 780, 670), 5 (66))

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Are you teaching young children to read?

Along with learning the 42 letter sound code, they will need to automatically recognise and be able to recall 72 tricky words. You cannot work them out using sounds alone, that is why we call them ‘tricky’!

There is an A3 gloss laminated mat with 36 words on one side and 36 on the other, 72 altogether.

Link to mat with first set of 36 : https://shop.sixbrickseducation.com/tricky-word-bricks-1...

Link to mat with second set of 36 : https://shop.sixbrickseducation.com/tricky-word-bricks-3...

Link to the supporting software: https://sixbrickssoftware.com/v3/#/trickywords2

I say to the children: look at the 'red arrow' row -

1. Place the orange brick on ‘all’

2. Place the red brick on ‘to’

3. Place the light blue brick on ‘was’

4. Place the green brick on ‘are’

5. Place the yellow brick on ‘be’

6. Place the dark blue brick on ‘do’

As you make the calls, you mark your own board. Keep an eye on the students that find it challenging as you circulate.

To correct – call the colour code and children can see if they have them all correct.

In this instance: Yellow, Light Blue, Red, Dark Blue, Green and Orange.

I can also correct and reinforce by using the FREE IWB software.

Such possibility in the hands of a skilled teacher.

Guaranteed: in my class, using the bricks, A3 mat cards and the IWB software, the children will out perform next door if they are not implementing this hands-on measure for learning the ‘Tricky Words’!

That’s Six Bricks delivering for curriculum and for student learning.

Are you using any of these materials?

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In the early years children measure and compare objects using non-standard units. Six Bricks are perfectly sized non-standard units and can be used by students to measure and compare a host of items. Children work in pairs to measure the length and height of selected objects around the classroom.

Be sure to make a simple task sheet to guide their work , with tasks written out in the level of language of the children. Add illustrations or little drawings beside key words e.g. a drawing of a pencil or ruler etc.

Insert a blank box on the task sheet where they will record their findings.

How many bricks long is my pencil?

How many bricks long is my ruler?

How many bricks long is my eraser?

How many bricks long is my lunch box?

How many bricks long is my shoe?

How many bricks long is my Jack’s arm?

1. How many bricks high is my chair?

2. How many bricks high is the standing book?

3. How many bricks high is my knee?

4. How many bricks high is my lunch box?

5. How many bricks high is my school bag?

Once they have carried out the task, made their recordings and gathered the data, then it is time for a discussion. You can ask all sorts of questions, for example:

Which was longer, your shoe or the pencil? How much longer?

Which was taller, your school bag or chair? By how much?

What a wonderful hands-on exercise in mathematics and a super use of Six Bricks to facilitate it i.e. all children using the same non-standard unit.

Think of other ways you can use Six Bricks within your school mathematics curriculum.

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Six Bricks can be leveraged to help achieve countless learning outcomes across curriculums, across schools.

Ireland's schools are pouring into the Six Bricks approach.

Six Bricks can be used for carrying out surveys, capturing and graphing data, followed by interpretation, in a hands-on, engaging and connected way.

Activity steps

Ask the children one question and give each possible answer a colour. For example, how did you get to school today?

Yellow = Bike

Orange = Walked

Green = Bus

Light Blue = Car

Red = Van

Dark Blue = Other

Each child answers the question by finding the right colour of the brick and placing it on his/her mode of transport to school.

The bricks are stacked together by colour.

Count the number of bricks in each colour/tower and talk about which bar is the highest/shortest/biggest/ smallest.

Tips and ideas

You can also translate the brick bar graph into a bar graph on paper as an introduction to statistics.

Questions to ask:

1. How many children participated in the survey?

2. By what means did the largest cohort come to school?

3. How many children can by van?

This survey could be adapted to favourite fruits, T.V. programmes, sports, foods, animals etc.

What ‘BRICKSTISTIC’ activities will you engage your students in?

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This is the mat as conceived and designed by Brent Hutcheson. There are up to 300 activities for this Crossing the B-Line movement mat. The 2 manuals are available in the shop on Six Bricks Education.

This mat is used to build countless skills, from perceptual and spatial awareness skills, to carefully listening and following instructions, to the vocabulary of movement and key number skills.

Let us do just one activity as an example of how the mat works. For this activity, the bottom line is 1, second is 2, mid-line is 3, next is 4 and top line is 5.

Begin with all 6 bricks on the B-line (The red line).

Ideally, you would call the moves and have a child move their bricks. In this exercise they would be working on exercising their listening skills, number, colour and spatial awareness skills etc.

For example, here are the moves 19 moves that a teacher would call out for this exercise.

01. Move Yellow to 4

02. Move Light Blue to 1

03. Move Green to 5

04. Move Orange to 2

05. Move Dark Blue to 5

06. Move Red to 2

07. Move Green to 2

08. Move Light Blue to 4

09. Move Dark Blue to 1

10. Move Red to 5

11. Move Yellow to 3

12. Move Orange to 5

13. Move Red to 3

14. Move Green to 4

15. Move Light Blue to 1

16. Move Orange to 3

17. Move Dark Blue to 5

18. Move Green to 3

19. Finally - Move Dark Blue to 1”

If you have followed the instructions correctly, then your mat will have:

Both Blues are on line 1. The rest of your bricks are on B-line

There are 100’s of exercises that use the Crossing the B-Line mat to build perceptual, spatial reasoning, mathematical and literacy skills.

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Target: Senior Infants (6 year olds)

Aim: to explore decomposing 6 into two and three sets, before reconstituting back to 6 through addition.

Materials: 6 bricks, crayons and a blank page.

Procedure

First, we explored Six Bricks as a class (CONCRETE): counted them as we stuck them together 1,2,3,4,5,6 – the whole stack represented 6.

I asked the children to break their stacks into two parts and tell me how many bricks in each, lots of different combinations offered e.g. “teacher, I have a 2 lot and a 4 lot” – kids express in all kinds of language.

Next, we pulled the 6 stack into three parts and again we talked through combinations e.g. “teacher I have a 4, a 1 and a 1”. If you combine 4 and 1 and 1, what do you get Alice?” – “6 teacher.” etc. Anyone get any other combinations? (there’ll be lots)

After that we drew some pictures on a big floor page (PICTORIAL REPRESENTATION) to represent the ‘sets’ e.g. a set of four bricks and a set of two bricks.

Finally we added the symbols (ABSTRACT) i.e. 4+2=6

This exploration of the set of 6 followed the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract Approach to mathematics.

Six Bricks supports a CPA approach in the early years.

In pairs - I set the children the task of drawing three different ways that you can break up a six brick stack and still have 6 when you put them back together.

Observation Point: children were doing, talking and problem-solving maths rather than just filling in box answers on worksheets.

Use Six Bricks or even two lots of 6 bricks to explore, construct and record number bonds from 2 to 12 and beyond, be that, two addends or three addends.

Six Bricks – a simple, affordable, structured resource that supports great mathematical exploration and problem-solving.

Question: What other ways can your Six Bricks support a CPA approach to building children’s mathematical understanding?

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This move mat can be used for a variety of skill building activities for example:

Identification of numbers 1 to 9

Identification of colours

Identification of shapes

Adding 2 sets together with totals to a maximum of 9 and marking answers

Adding 3 sets together with totals to a maximum of 9 and marking answers

Here is a quick example:

1. Place a red brick on the green rectangle

2. Place a yellow brick on 7

3. Place a light blue brick on an orange shape

4. Place a green brick on a 10-sided shape

5. Place an orange on the number you get when you add 4+4

6. Place a dark blue on the number that comes between 4 and 6 on the number line

Perhaps you might focus call outs on a singular activity, such as calling out 2 addends and children mark totals e.g. red on 3+2, green on 2+4, yellow on 6+3, orange on 5+2 etc.

There are just so many ways that you can make call outs which require the children to listen carefully, process the information and demonstrate understanding by correctly placing the required brick onto the mat.

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This Six Bricks approach can be used to support mental arithmetic in every class from Reception to Year 6 and beyond.

It is crucially important to get your students doing mental arithmetic at every age and stage across the primary school.

Six Bricks can be a very productive strategy to employ and here is the approach.

Procedure:

Place a chart on the wall or an image on the IWB or draw 6 brick images in each of the six colours on the drywipe marker board.

Assign a value to each brick, in the image below we simply go 1 to 6.

Now call out problems and the students must make the solution visible with their bricks.

The key point is: ALL students must engage and show a solution. Very often, there will be more than one solution.

I say to the students:

Build a stack that has a total of 9? What answers might they hold up? (A is one solution)

Build a stack that has a total of 7.

Build a stack, combining 4 numbers to make 9.

What is the value of Stack B in the picture?

Teacher can hold up a stack and ask: what is the total value of my brick stack?

Extension:

The numbers you assign to the bricks will vary according to the class you teach and the ceiling of their number experience e.g. a Year 3 could have 6 numbers assigned as follows: 1, 9, 10, 100, 1000, 300 – see all the fun and challenge in these 6 numbers.

A Year 6 might have 6 numbers as follows: ¼, ½, 1/3, 3/6, 2/3, 2/8 with a question like, build a stack with a value of 1.5 etc.

What other ways can you expand on this idea?

Is this a worthwhile activity for your class?

Is your school adopting Six Bricks into their curriculum approach?

Lots more ideas and materials on www.sixbrickseducation.com

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Learning to Read with Six Bricks - Part 1

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Learning to Read with Six Bricks - Part 1

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I am a massive fan of the best phonics programme in the world. Ireland’s schools have been using this programme for the past 12+ years. In a survey last year, 91% of schools indicated they were using the programme. In the last international PIRLS results, Ireland came 4th. in the world and 1st. in Europe. Friends, the best early reading programme for me is Jolly Phonics.

However, you can plug Six Bricks into any reading programme, I plug mine into the best.

As you know, to read and write successfully, effectively and independently, children must learn to ‘decode’ for reading and ‘encode’ for writing. There are 42 letter sounds in the code for 4 & 5 year olds to master, and amazingly, most of them do. Instead of learning words, we learn to decode.

The road to reading begins with the first six letter sounds – s, a, t, i, p and n. Hmmm – I’m seeing a connection already, Six Sounds ……… and I have Six Bricks. Whatever could I do? Well, quite a lot it seems.

In addition to what you normally do, you can add a great Six Bricks element.

Procedure:

Each child has Six bricks.

I write my six sounds up on the classroom marker board and place a magnetised cut out brick under each or a magnetised real brick.

I say/make the ‘sound’ e.g. /t/ and the child or children have to hear it, identify the grapheme and hold up the matching brick, in this case YELLOW. When I make the /p/ sound, I should see GREEN held high by all, hopefully. Great way to test and check.

Once they know their six sounds, the next thing to do is to read some words.

Task: Using the letter sound code, can you decode and read the three words in the red boxes in the image?

What other words could you create with your bricks and hold up for the child to decode / read aloud?

Decoding is reading.

We can also write words i.e. encode.

We can do it with bricks too. Studs always face right, emphasising the directionality of blending and reading English.

Can you make the word /pin/ with your bricks?

So – that is a green, followed by a red, followed by dark blue?

Can you make the words in black in the image below?

NOTE: children will enjoy blending, working out and reading the ‘brick words’ you hold up. They will enjoy practising skills in making words themselves using the bricks. All the while they are acquiring, practising and cementing a suite of skills and understandings that will unlock reading i.e. how to work out words rather than trying to remember them all, remembering whole words. That is neither efficient or possible.

Know the 42 letter sound code. Use & apply the code. That’s reading! And that’s just the beginning.

Take this approach, adapt it, expand exponentially on it, make it part of your regular phonics practice and enjoy greater success and progression by all.

(check out the Six Bricks Education Shop if you need sets of bricks or other reading related materials)

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There are many classrooms that have lots of playful learning materials, with Six Bricks being a further addition.

In these classrooms, Six Bricks can be combined in clever ways with existing materials to increase the learning opportunities.

In the picture below, I have combined and set out a particular set of objects and we are going to use our positional language to say where things are relative to others.

Teacher asks: “Mary, where is the orange teddy?”

Now, there is not just one answer here. There are many many correct answers here, and probing will elicit them.

The orange teddy is sitting on the yellow brick.

The orange teddy is beside the blue dragonfly.

The orange teddy is to the left of the yellow teddy.

The orange teddy is directly behind the green teddy who is sitting on an orange brick, beside a light blue brick that is all alone!

You get the idea – set up the scenario for the language functions on which you want to work.

Where is the yellow spider? ( what are all the possible answers?)

Why is there nothing on the light blue brick? (young children will speculate wildly: it's too hot to sit on OR a dragon came by and ate the pink teddy and ladybird OR .........)

Extension: place insects under bricks; place bears behind, beside and in front of bricks; sandwich a fly between two bricks, ..... above all, have fun, fun, fun.

Allow the children in groups to set out pictures with 6B & objects, and ask & answer questions.

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As a teacher, I love the ‘Six Bricks Problem Solving Circle’.  So do the students, as they love the mental challenges. It can be used from Reception to Year 15+. You can do thousands of quick mental problems with it and just Six bricks!

The circle and bricks provide a strong visual over which they will lay and attach their thinking and problem solving strategies.

The circles can be on pupil desks or perhaps all gather round one on the floor.

Procedure:

Decide on the mental arithmetic and problem solving you want your children to engage with.

Throw a few bricks into the circle.

Assign values to the bricks and clearly tell the students the values.

Pose a problem

Solve the problem

Examples based on picture:

1. If all bricks have a value of 4, but the red has a value of 6, what s the value of the circle? How did you do it?

2. If all the bricks have a value of 2, what is the value of the circle? Now remove 3 bricks, what is the value of the circle now? How did you get it?

3. If the cold bricks are worth 4 each, and the warm bricks are worth double that number, what is the total value of the circle?

4. If each brick is worth 1/3, what is the value of the circle? How do you know?

This is just 4 examples. Application is unlimited in scope and number ceiling.

Remember: you can have less bricks or more bricks in the circle, take out, add in, do whatever to exercise their mental arithmetic and problem-solving skill. The bricks can be small or large numbers, fractions, decimals or even percentages. They can represent goats and sheep, money or any other values. You say what’s in the circle, pose the problem, they manipulate and solve.

FREE Problem Solving Circle in software tool: https://sixbrickssoftware.com/v3/#/problemsolvingcircle

Problem Solving Circle in shop: https://shop.sixbrickseducation.com/crack-the-code-tools-problem-solving-circle.html

Will you use the Six Bricks ‘Problem Solving circle’ approach?

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‘Learning to Read With Six Bricks’ - Part 2

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‘Learning to Read With Six Bricks’ - Part 2

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Hi all, this is Part 2 in ‘Learning to Read With Six Bricks’. I can see it is a topic of interest to many.

As you know, here in Ireland 91% of schools use the world-renowned Jolly Phonics Programme with our bricks. It is impossible for each child to have 42 letter sounds on the table across the day, but all can certainly have 6 bricks at all times. I recommend using those Six Bricks at various times across the school day for short snappy revision and reinforcement sessions on phonics. It will drive knowledge and acquistion of the letter / sound code on which independent reading skills are based. I follow the ‘little and often principle’!

There are 42 sounds in the Jolly Phonics ‘Reading Code’ and children must be able to recognise and identify each sound on the ear. They learn them one by one following the Jolly Phonics Programme

TOP TIP: make a supersize wall chart of the 42 letter-sound code and assign a brick colour to each letter sound in each of the 7 groups. Number the groups. In this way you can direct children to the particular group you are working on. Place your poster up on the wall in every classroom and support room where children are learning to read.

PROCEDURE:

I say to the children, look at group 2, what sound is this – “/r/ as in rat” and they should hold up an ORANGE brick. Which sound is this – “/d/ as in dog” and they should hold up GREEN etc.

You can say the sound discretely or add a word that begins with the sound.

Look at row 3: “/f/ as in five fat fish.” What colour should the children be holding up?

The brick poster is a fun, active, participatory way to revise and cement the letter sounds with the children. All children must listen, engage, identify and hold up a coloured brick. You can instantly see, reinforce and correct.

In Part 3 I will look at the essential skill of blending and how Six bricks can be an essential and valuable part of the approach.

It is my view, a classroom using Six Bricks as part of an active / interactive phonics approach is simply a better classroom, a faster progressing classroom, than a room without the Six Bricks mix. Wouldn’t that make a great little piece of research! Any takers?

For greater success and faster, more effective whole class progression in phonics, incorporate Six Bricks into your approach.

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Learning to Read with Six Bricks - Part 3

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Learning to Read with Six Bricks - Part 3

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This is the Part 3 – two related items posted recently.

Wherever in the world English reading skills are being taught, we can effectively use Six Bricks as part of the mix of approaches to teach blending, the core skill at the heart of learning to read. In this case we have SET 1 sounds represented by bricks in the side on position and SET 2 sounds in the face on position. The ‘s’ is a side-on Green, while ‘d’ is a face on GREEN.

Aim: children work out unknown words through sounding out & blending.

Requirements: a large chart on the wall that the class can see and 2 X sets of bricks per pair.

Procedure:

Say a sound and the children have to hold up the corresponding colour brick in the SIDE on or FACE on position e.g. /r/ is orange face on, while /t/ is orange side on. Repeat for lots of sounds. Very engaging, active and great revision and embedding of sounds. Building speed and automaticity.

Make a word with your brick arrangement or hold up a picture of a ‘brick word’ and the children have to say the word. They will only be able to say it or work it out by applying blending skills e.g. what is the word at ‘1’ below?

Make and test them on other two, three and four letter words e.g. what are words 2 and 3 below?

Pre-prepare lots of brick words on large flashcards that you can hold up or stored on the Interactive Whiteboard for projection.

You can even make a sentence e.g. what is the sentence at number 4 below?

Note: are you beginning to see the massive application of Six Bricks as an approach and strategy to building letter / sound code knowledge and the skills of blending in order to work out unknown words?

Using Six Bricks to harness the attention, active participation and the engagement of all is simply a better, more effective approach.

(check out the Six Bricks Education Shop for brick packs and other phonics / reading materials)

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Evolution, Natural Selection, Adaptation & Six Bricks

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Evolution, Natural Selection, Adaptation & Six Bricks

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The best teachers use a ‘Lesson Hook’ to start a lesson in a memorable, engaging way from the get go.

It’s approaching Spring in Ireland and the daffodil bulbs occupying a sheltered sunny spot are in full bloom.

Ms. Pender, a second-level biology teacher, is beginning a chapter on ‘Evolution, Natural Selection & Adaptation’. In a moment of teacher inspiration, she sees a way in which she can use Six Bricks to launch into the unit.

Earlier, she slipped outside to the daffodils and shrubbery and placed Six Bricks into the vegetation, in a very pre-determined way. The bricks have now transformed, and for the purpose of the learning unit, they are now 6 coloured insects!

To begin, the lesson, she is going to bring the class out, position them with their backs to the daffodils and say:

Look at me, do not turn until I say so. There are colourful insects in the vegetation today.

I want you to tell me, if you were a hungry bird:

Which insect would you have eaten first?

Follow on questions:

1. How many brick insects can you see?

2. Which ones stand out?

3. Which ones blend in?

4. Are there any brick insects that are very difficult to see?

5. Why are some more difficult to see than others? (look hard, because all six bricks are there!)

This lesson hook will have grabbed the attention of the students. Back in the classroom, Ms. Pender can reference their experience in the garden as she traverses and explains the concepts of Evolution, Natural Selection & Adaptation, as she shows images of adaptation in the animal, bird and insect kingdoms.

Who would have thought that Six Bricks could be so central to such a lesson.

With a little creative thought and adaptation (pardon the pun!) Six Bricks can become part of hundreds of lessons across curriculum and across classrooms.

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Learning to Read with Six Bricks- Part 4

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Learning to Read with Six Bricks- Part 4

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In this instalment we focus on vowel sounds. Children need reams of practice in order to discriminate and distinguish them. Sat them for yourself right now.

Ok everyone – pretend you are students in my reading / phonics class and we are practicing hearing, discriminating, recognising and identifying vowel sounds.

Up on my wall, I have a very large poster and the letters and matching colours are viewable and discernible from any seat in the classroom, that’s how your posters should be.

When I say a sound, you must hold up the brick colour that you think matches that sound e.g. if I say /i/ then you should be holding up an ORANGE brick.

Say the vowels as discrete sounds

/u/

/a/

/o/

/i/

/e/

Say the vowels as discrete sounds and add sample words

/u/ as in cup, pup, nut

/a/ as in rat, ran, pat

/o/ as in not, pod, cob

/i/ as in sit, pip, bib

/e/ as in net, pet, peg

What is the middle sound in each of these words

mat, map, can

leg, let, fed

pip, lip, tip

mud, cup, mug

cog, dog, fog

Using the bricks and the chart on the wall, you can do reams of regular practice around the five vowels, building and refining childrens’ ability to discriminate and identify them rapidly.

Short, diverse and rapid active phonics sessions, for 5 minutes here and there drives strong acquisition of and facility with all parts of the letter sound code.

Make Six Bricks a key part of your phonics approach.

(check out the Six Bricks Education Shop for any bricks or supporting materials you may need)

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This is one of the most powerful of Six Bricks activities. Understanding how Six Bricks Answer Code works will open up a whole new way of using Six Bricks in teaching, learning and assessment.

It’s the classic example of ‘TEACH ME TO FISH’ and you feed me for a lifetime. Let me teach you to fish, using just 3 examples and then I ask you to contribute your own example in a reply that demonstrates to me that you now know how to fish!

I am going to provide three examples and once you understand the mechanics of the exemplar activities, you will use this technique daily in curriculum with Six Bricks. There's no end to the possibilities with SBAC application. SBAC drives learning deeper, raises standards.

VERY IMPORTANT: before going further, get your own set of Six Bricks and answer the question just like a child, and compare your own answer to my answer which is contained in the image.

Requirements:

Six Bricks with magnetic tape on their backs OR a set of Cut Out Six Bricks +magnetic tape from Six Bricks Education.

Your front-of-classroom large drywipe magnetic whiteboard

A set of Six Bricks for each student / participant

Procedure:

Write a question on the classroom whiteboard

Next, write up the six items i.e. numbers, words, pictures, statements etc. as required by the question.

Finally, randomly assign one of the magnetised cut out bricks or regular magnetised Duplo bricks to each of the words / numbers.

TASK 1: Students, from left to right on your desks, place your bricks in the brick order that these days of the week follow on from Sunday.

They must now sequence their 6 bricks from left to right, in the order that answers the question correctly.

(when they are ready, you place a colour sequence of bricks underneath the question that answers it. Children compare, discuss and correct own answers)

TASK 2: NO PEEKING AT ANSWER – look at Task 2 in the image: can you place the words in the order in which they would appear in the dictionary? To answer: sequence your bricks in a colour order from left to right to answer the question.

TASK 3: NO PEEKING AT ANSWER – look at the question: can you put the numbers in order from smallest to largest? To answer: sequence your bricks in a colour order from left to right to answer the question.

NOTE: Six Bricks Activity Code can be used daily to drive engagement by ALL students, with ALL SBAC tasks and ALL students must answer the question. No hiding place, and leaving it to the usual few to answer.

Thank you for reading and do give it a go.

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Building, copying, problem solving and comparing 3D models strengthens childrens' perception of shape and space (spatial awareness skill) which is a key area in mathematics. It’s about looking & seeing, imagining and transposing, and figuring out. They need hands-on practice with materials, not more worksheets!

Let’s call it ‘Tricky Perspectives in 3D Builds’.

Procedure

Build a model where you cannot see how the whole bricks are placed, as in the pictures below.

Make sure each child has the same types of bricks as you used to make the model.

Show the model to the group only from one angle. This means the children have to figure out how the bricks are placed even though they cannot see it from all angles.

After finishing building, let the children look at the model from all angles and then ask them:

1. Was your model the same? Had you to make changes?

2. Why was it hard to build this model?

3. How did you figure out how to build the model?

Tips and ideas:

Since this activity is a bit difficult, start very simple with only a few bricks, and then make it more difficult over time.

You can also let the children to do this activity in pairs or small groups, when one child builds the model and the rest try to copy.

Extension:

All teachers have phone cameras. Why not build some models of ever increasing difficulty, photograph them, save into a folder on your computer and then project them onto the Interactive Whiteboard as building tasks for the students in pairs. You’ll get great milage out of them over time.

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We hope your children are having tremendous fun with their Six Bricks. We certainly are!

Six Bricks is one of the LEGO Foundation’s tools to introduce learning through play into different settings. Through fun, short and playful activities with sets of LEGO® DUPLO® bricks in six bright colours, children practice a range of skills.

Learning Outcomes:  children will challenge your fine motor skills, and especially the muscles used for “pinching” pencils in a steady grip. We use fine motor skills every day for tasks like handwriting, typing, crafts and playing instruments.

Procedure:

Spread out your six bricks on a table, studs facing down.

Stack the bricks short end to short end, using one hand and a clothes peg

Try to make the tower as high as possible (for very young children, they may just be able to pick up a brick with the peg. Others will manage to place one brick on top of another. For others, they will manage to place all, short end on short end and build a six bricks tower)

Extension 1: Can you do this with your other hand?

Extension 2: What other ways might you ask the children to stack the bricks?

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Aim:

To carry out a class survey

To gather and represent a set of data as a bar graph.

To interpret the data and make some statements

Question: what form of transport do you use to get to school?

Procedure:

1. Talk about how children get to school and identify the data sets e.g. some walk, others come by bus or car etc.

2. Create a key for your data sets e.g. Red Brick represents bus, Blue for walkers, orange for those that come by bike and Yellow for other means of transport.

3. Draw the 5 groupings along the bottom of your bar chart.

4. Each child picks up a brick that says how he / she comes to school.

5. Children form into groups of the same colour e.g. all red bricks together, as red bricks represent the group of children who come to school by bus etc.

6. Decide who is the largest group and then ad a scale to the left side of your bar chart to accommodate the largest group, which was 9.

7. Now ask all children to place their brick onto the bar chart to create the full set of data.

We are now ready to analyse and make statements, for example:

1. There are 26 children in the class

2. Cars are the most popular form of transport to our school.

3. Only 5 out of 26 children walk to school etc.

Reflection Point: Six Bricks is a very practical way to create bar graphs. Children can identify with the data e.g Anne can tell that she is represented by the orange bricks because that is where she placed her brick, as she comes to school on her bike. The bricks connect children in a concrete way to the data. This is yet another perfect example of the CONCRETE / PICTIRIAL / ABSTRACT approach to mathematics.

Can you carry out a pet survey or a favourite sport survey using Six Bricks to represent the data sets?

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Aim:

to use Six Bricks to tell the story of 6

to use two hands in the telling of the story.

The story of 6 is just one story to be told. Give each group an extra 4 bricks and sure they could tell the story of 10. For now, stick with the story of 6.

Procedure:

Teacher models and records. Children work their own set of Six Bricks.

Start with a stack of 6 bricks in one hand.

I have 6 in one hand and none in the other, so:

6+0=6

Now take off 1. I have 5 in one hand and 1 in the other, so:

5+1=6

Put the stack back together: Now take off 2. I have 4 in one hand and 2 in the other, so:

4+2=6

Put the stack back together: Now take off 3. I have 3 in one hand and 3 in the other, so:

3+3=6

Putting the stack back together each time emphasises that we always have the full complement of 6. Continue in this vein, recording the story on the large classroom drywipe marker board.

6+0=6

5+1=6

4+2=6

3+3=6

2+4=6

1+5=6

0+6=6

Now let the children repeat the story of 6 on their own and this time they record the facts as they go in their copybooks.

Teaching Point: repeat for other number stories up to 10.

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Aim:
to talk about and measure temperature

to talk about time and time sequences

to equate each of the Six Bricks to degrees of temperature and time events

Procedure

Discuss degrees of temperature.

Separate the Six Bricks into two piles – 3 in warm pile and 3 in cold pile.

Temperature: in what sequence would you arrange your Six Bricks to reflect coldest to warmest?

Day & Night: If you arrange your Six Bricks into a sequence to reflect a 24 hour day period in June in the Northern hemisphere, what interval time period of the day is approximately represented by each brick colour?

The Months: discuss which two-month period could be assigned to each brick colour. Now arrange the year according to brick colours and label the bi-monthly bricks.

The Seasons: equate the brick colours to the seasons. Draw and colour in hues of bricks, the cyclical changing seasons.

Task 1: draw a summer picture and colour in warm colours. Draw a winter picture and colour in cold colours.

Task 2: combine sets of bricks together. Construct a warm creature from the warm colours, a cold creature from the cold colours. Use other materials to embellish. Give each a name. Give each a special power. What happens when they meet?

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Learning Outcomes:

We are learning to read numbers using the place value system.

We are learning to assign value to a number based on place

We are learning to read relative values

We are learning to write and read numbers in a new way

We are learning that maths is wonderful and fun

Synopsis:

Imagine if every number had its own symbol. What would the symbol for 87 or 145 or 62 million be? Sure, we would never be able to count if every number had its own unique symbol. It is the fact that every number is derived from a combination of ten symbols that is key. We can represent every number with just a combination of any of 10 digits (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9) – the base 10 system.

It is the concept of Place value that is the basis of our entire number system. Place value is the system in which the position of a digit in a number determines its value. ...

In the standard system, called the base ten number system (or decimal system), each place represents ten times the value of the place to its right.

We use structured materials such as Dienes Blocks to teach place value in the classroom.

However, Six Bricks can certainly be used in the middle to senior primary to play with numbers and further interrogate, render, discuss and arrive at a fuller conceptual understanding of place value.

Just like the numeration system, each brick represents a number. Here we have numbers 1 to 6. We could easily have 10 coloured bricks and represent the infinite set of numbers.

Questions:

How quickly can you say each of the numbers from A to F?

Question for you: as you studied and readied to say each number, did you find yourself considering the PLACE of each number in order to assign and call its VALUE? For example, in ‘D’, were you looking at ‘Light Blue’ and thinking 4 ….. 4 what…….. looking at place and working out ….. oh …… 4 thousand.

Children will also engage in ‘mathematical thinking’ in this way.

Isn’t it powerful how Six Bricks can be used to get children thinking about numbers in new conceptual ways.

Consider:

In D, how many times bigger is ‘orange’ than ‘yellow’? What gives orange all that ‘value’.

In D, what is the difference in value between ‘red’ and ‘yellow’.

In D, what is the value of ‘blue’?

In D, if ‘orange’ was zero, say the new number.

Teaching Point: This is just a flavour of the potential and possibility of Six Bricks to build ‘flexible thinking’ in relation to place value.

Task: get your students making, saying, drawing, writing and recording small and large numbers using their Six Bricks

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Six Bricks can bring a hands-on approach to problem solving. The bricks can help children to visualise the problem and to work through the steps to arrive logically at a solution.

Aim: to use concrete materials to build out a problem and its solution.

Procedure:

Children work in groups of 2 / 3 / 4 depending on the number experience range you are using.

Teacher reads out a problem e.g. Michael has 6 sweets.  How many more does he need to have 12?

Children listen and then discuss with their group what the equation will be.

Group decides on equation of either 12 – 6 = ?   or   6 + ? = 12

Children use their bricks as concrete apparatus to construct, visualise, talk through and work out the answer.

Each group shares their answer and how it was arrived at.

Various problem-solving activities can be practised daily using this Six Bricks CPA approach.

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The Fastest Pegger!

Could you be the fastest clothes pegger in the class?

Perhaps with practice you just might!

This is a super fun game when 2 children or adults go head-to-head in competition.

Learning Outcomes: children will challenge their fine motor skills, especially the muscles used for “pinching” pencils in a steady grip. Additionally, they will practice and strengthen their hand-eye-coordination skills in a fun game setting.

The Challenge: who is fastest at putting the Six Bricks into the tub using only a clothes peg

Materials: 2 tubs, 2 lots of 6 bricks and 2 clothes pegs.

Procedure:

A head to head challenge between 2 players

Both players spread out their six bricks on a table, studs facing down.

Both clothes pegs lying on table

On the command, players grab a peg and place their bricks into the tub using just one hand and a clothes peg.

(works best if you the winner is the best of 3 or 5 games as this values skill over luck)

Extension 1: Repeat the challenge, but this time both players do it using their less dominant hand?

Extension 2: Repeat, but now each child can use 2 pegs, a peg in each hand, and use both sides of their brain! Try it - super fun.

Note: have you ever longed for immersive games for those wet days when children have to remain in classrooms at break time? This is one. Assemble a collection of plastic tubs, bricks and clothes pegs and the children will happily play away while you relax with a coffee in the staffroom!

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Aim: to develop fundamental movement skills while carrying

These simple activities can be used in P.E. or as brain breaks. Young children begin to develop carrying, balancing and coordination skills e.g. carrying a brick on different body parts (e.g. palm of hand, back of hand, head).

Procedure

In pairs:

Ask the children to stand up in pairs and choose one brick together.

Ask them to balance the brick between their hands and walk around in a circle.

Now try to balance it between your heads and walk in a straight line

Continue the game and try different ways of balancing the brick, using feet, elbows, knees, etc.

Individually:

Stand a brick on the palm of your hand and keep the brick upright for the count of 10

Keep the brick upright in the palm of your hand and walk around the perimeter of the hall or classroom or yard.  Halfway change hands.

Place a brick on your head and walk about freely to the music. Change the music tempo.

Place a brick on the back of each hand and move about freely without dropping.

Extension 1: carrying a Lego brick on a small bat in different positions while moving slowly or quickly.

Extension 2: children move in different ways, at different speeds, in different directions whilst balancing a brick on head, hand palm or a bat.

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Here at Six Bricks Education, we are firm believers in the  ‘less is more’ principle when it comes to problem solving in mathematics, pardon the contradiction! Providing the time, space and manipulatives for students to explore and solve a couple of problems is far more productive for learning than doing 30 problems by rote & pencil. As I say:

As we like to say: “Worksheets don’t grow dendrites, but Six Bricks most certainly do!”

Using 6 six bricks or even 12 six bricks (another seeming contradiction!), children use the bricks to make their thinking more visible and to provide a platform for mathematical conversations as they set out, manipulate and solve the problem.

Aim: to explore, build, and record how many 8s make 40.

Procedure:

Assign and agree a brick value, for this problem, let it be 8.

We now need to find how many of these  8s make 40.

Children set out the bricks 1 by 1, counting in 8s to 40.

They will discover that 5 eights make 40, transcribed into the equation 5 X 8 = 40 and perhaps recorded as in the illustration above.

Extension: you can pose any number of multiplication problems in the format of - How many ____ make _____? e.g. how may 8s make 48 etc.

Once children have a strong understanding of a concept in one context, they can generalise and transfer that conceptual understanding to all instances of _____ X ______ = Y

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Children love poems and rhymes. Six Bricks can be used to inspire a poetry appreciation and writing session. Here, we began by reading a number of young childrens’ rhymes and poems. We talked about themes, rhymes and common features. We dreamed of possible illustrations and then looked at what the illustrator drew. There were all sorts of whimsical topics, themes and characters. Our task was to write and illustrate a rhyme that featured one or all of our Six Bricks. Just like in the rhyme ‘Hey Diddle Diddle’, the bricks become animate in the childrens’ imaginations.

Here I share one rhyme written about a little yellow Lego brick.

Little Yellow Brick

A little yellow brick went out one day,

Over the meadow, far far away.

Met a daffodil, I say how do you do?

You and me, we now make two.

Off they went beneath a sky so blue,

Hand in hand, shoe by shoe.

Met a little chick and what did they agree,

Two plus one, we always make three.

Three new friends went skipping along,

Met a yellow hammer singing her song.

She sang and sang, and sang some more,

Yep, three pus one, sure, that makes four

The sun it rose and cheered up the sky,

While four yellow friends slept, bye and bye.

©sixbrickseducation.com

Aims:

We are learning to compose and write a little rhyme that features one or more Six Bricks

We are learning about rhyming words

We are learning to illustrate like a professional illustrator

Procedure:

Sing, say, read and recap a bunch of rhymes and nursery rhymes

Compose a whole class rhyme

In groups of three, have the children toss about ideas, rough draft, compose and polish their rhymes.

Read, perform and share their group compositions.

Another Six Bricks inspired literacy lesson

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Background:

Patterns are all around us: in nature, in our clothes, in wall paper, in our routines, in time etc. Patterns are about seeing connections and making links. We must help our students to do both. By exploring and understanding patterns, children learn to make predictions, to work out and understand what comes next, they come to make logical connections and to use reasoning skills, for example, they come to know the pattern of the morning routine: out of bed, dress, have breakfast, wash teeth, put on coat, grab school bag and leave for school. Patterns lead to prediction and predictable behaviour. There are patterns in time: the days of the week, months of the year, night follows day, spring follows winter, Wednesday always precedes Thursday etc.  Really, pattern is about seeing connections and making links.  It is the systematic arrangement of numbers or shapes which follow a given rule.

Question:
What is the error in the pattern above?
Which brick comes next?

When children understand what makes a pattern, how to copy patterns and how to make their own, this not only enhances their understanding of maths in other areas but also their experiences of art, music and physical movement.

For our young children, identifying and creating patterns is just the beginning of the mastery of life-long mathematical skills. Once children are aware of patterns they will begin to see them in everything.

Aim: to practice building patterns using sets of Six Bricks.

Procedure:

Gather the children in a circle on the floor

Talk about patterns in the world around us.

Use bricks to build a pattern using 8 bricks. Can the children extend the pattern. Do 5 different ones.

In groups, have children make a pattern. Then swop with your neighbouring group and they try to identify and extend your pattern.

Using crayon & paper, draw and record your pattern.

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Nothing like a rapid quick-fire round of true or false questions, whatever the age or class level.

True is represented by the GREEN brick and RED signifies FALSE.

If the student thinks the statement is TRUE, hold the GREEN brick up high, if FALSE then hold aloft the RED brick.

For me the teacher, this is a very quick way of determining if the children are correct. It’s a test of knowledge & recall, requires concentration and quick thinking, is active and fun. All centred on just two little Lego brickies!

I like to have the children keep both bricks on the table in parallel, in front of themselves. They focus on the two bricks. I make a statement and they must rapidly decide, True or False, grab and hold aloft the chosen brick response.

This is a snappy way for a teacher to assess knowledge and understanding or to revise & embed content.

Here is a few sample statements that indicate the range and quality of possible statements in an educational setting that you could make; keep them to the age, stage and work ceiling of the class. There are millions of statements possible, actually there is an infinite number, so thinking caps on for your students.

1. True or False: 7+6 equals 12

2. True or False If today is Monday. Two days ago, it was Friday.

3. True or False Glass is magnetic.

4. True or False A bird is higher up the food chain than a cat.

5. True or False Shop comes before ship in the dictionary

6. True or False 7x6 …….+8 = 50

7. True or False Summer comes immediately after Winter

8. True or False Vienna is the capital of Switzerland

9. True or False There are 36 counties in Ireland

10. True or False The Vikings came to Ireland in 1169

Note 1: CRUCIAL – once children have indicated a brick response, ask a follow on clarifying question e.g. in Q1 above: Michael – what does 7+6 equal? Q2 – Mary – what day was it 2 days ago? etc .etc.

Note 2: often when you ask a question of the class, only a fraction of the class engage, less still volunteer an answer and you ask one child for the answer. However, with just a GREEN & RED brick, everyone engages, everyone answers and you see all answers! That’s the 100% I’m looking for in my room!

Extension 1: do a quick round of 10 questions as a fun assessment exercise. Children can keep their scores by marking a ‘tick’ or an ‘x’ on their drywipe marker board.

Extension 2: do a series of true / false statements on a specific subject, topic or topics that are being studied.

Extension 3: do a series of true / false statements to practice vocabulary and verbs as part of second language learning.

Any thoughts, comments, extensions come to mind for this activity?

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Aim: to practice adding or subtracting a set amount from a starting number

Class: any class level

Arrangement: Groups of 4 or 5

Procedure:

The group of 5 stand or sit in a star formation, just far enough apart to facilitate ease of throwing and catching a six bricks cube

Have a cube made of six bricks

The starter child says 7 plus 6, calls a name and throws the cube to another student, who catches it and says 13. That child says the name of another student and throws it to him / her who says 19, calls the name of another student and throws it on…….. keep going until you get to 100. If a student gets an answer wrong, he/she is out and the game continues with remaining students.

Extension 1: start at a different number and add a different number e.g. start at 9 and add 7

Extension 2: start at a number and add a 2 digit number on each time e.g. +12

Extension 3: start at a higher number and subtract a single digit number e.g. start at 101 and subtract 3 each time

Extension 4: start at a higher number and subtract a 2 digit number e.g. start at 101 and subtract 12 each time

Extension 5:  introduce higher numbers or even fractions or money tasks - be creative.

Differentiation: students can be grouped according to number ability and all groups can be assigned an ability appropriate task

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Subitising is the ability to perceive the number of a group of items at a glance and without pausing and counting.  Subitising is the mathematical ability to ‘see’ a small amount of objects and to instantly know ‘how many’ without counting. It is generally agreed that the maximum number of items that can be subitised is about six.

Again, subitising can be practiced with all sorts of materials, but six bricks is certainly one great starting point.

Aim: to accurately say the number of objects in a set without counting.

Procedure:

Children work in pairs or in groups of 3

Have 10 bricks in a tub on the table

Child A reaches into the tub, picks up a number of bricks from 1 to 6 in both hands and then drops them out into the centre of the table.

The other 2 children have to say the number without counting

First to say it accurately or most accurately wins.

Count to confirm the number.

Rotate the roles: thrower & estimators.

Extension 1: Child A drops the bricks and the other 2 children immediately write their answer on a drywipe marker board and hold it up. First up wins.

Extension 2: best of 5 goes is winner. Child A drops out lots of 1 to 6 for 5 goes and the others write the number. Check and confirm each time.

(Tip on keeping score: if you have lots of spare bricks, then give a brick to the winner each time. First to accumulate 6 bricks wins)

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This is a really fun Six Bricks game that is both fast and furious.

Aim: to practice, improve and strengthen the fine motor skills that help with pencil grip, coordination and handwriting. (or just for a brain break, a bit of time out and a little fun!)

Task: How many bricks can you place into a tub using just a clothes peg, before the rocket explodes?

This super exploding rocket is available to access for FREE on the toolkit4maths.com site, in the ‘Classroom Timer’ section. It is wonderful to put it up on the IWB and turn up the volume. (can also be accessed and used on tablet devices at their tables).

Form the students into pairs, max of three.

Give each group 12 to 18 bricks and a clothes peg

Set the timer at 30 seconds. On your count – Ready / Set / Go – hit the START button.

Students, as fast as they can, lift bricks into their tub using the clothes peg and their dominant hand.

When the Rocket explodes with a great bang, they must stop & drop the peg immediately.

Count how many bricks are in the tub. Who got more than 10? Who got the most in.

Reset the timer, and the next person takes a turn.

Extension: use the less dominant hand to do the activity.

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This is no ordinary ruler. This is a very colourful Six Bricks ruler and you can even see the GROBBY sequence of Green Red Orange Blue Blue Yellow along the measuring edge.

Of course the units are non-standard, in this case the ruler is ‘six brick units long’.

Aim:

To practice measuring the length, width and height of objects using non-standard units.

To make comparisons between objects based on measurements

Procedure:

Students work in pairs

Give each pair 2 X sets of Six Bricks to make a ‘Six Bricks Ruler’

Provide each pair with measuring tasks e.g.:

Tasks:

1. How many bricks long is you pencil?

2. How many bricks long is your maths book?

3. How many bricks long is your shoe?

4. How many bricks long is the door?

5. Measure and record the length of 4 other items with your ‘Six Bricks Ruler’.

6. Measure and record the width of 2 items with your ‘Six Bricks Ruler’.

7. Measure and record the height of 3 items with your ‘Six Bricks Ruler’.

Now make 4 comparative statements e.g.:

The __________ is longer than the _________.

The __________ is longer than the _________ but shorter than the _________.

Extension:

In what other ways could you use your ‘Six Bricks Ruler’?

Are there other rulers you could make?

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Collections of objects can be sorted according to many criteria. One such criterion can be on the basis of colour. Being able to identify a common characteristic between a group of objects or materials is a fundamental skill.

We can sort collections on the basis of things that roll or not roll, things that are hot or cold, things that are alive or were never alive, hard things versus soft things, things that are magnetic or non-magnetic etc.

Aim: to sort a collection according to one attribute such as colour.

Procedure:

Children work in groups of 4 - 6 and place their sets of six bricks randomly in the middle of the play area.

Teacher calls out one colour.  The children must sort the bricks by collecting the bricks of that colour. How many?

Repeat this activity but call out 2 / 3 / 4 colours.  Children work in their groups to sort the bricks according to colour.

Extension 1: have various quantities of each colour in the box e.g. 1 light blue, 2 yellows, 3 greens, 4 oranges, 5 reds, 6 dark blues. Sort the collection according to colour and then arrange / order the piles from smallest to largest collection. Once sorted, ask them questions:

1. How many reds?

2. Which group is the largest?

3. How many more dark blue bricks are there than orange bricks?

4. ·Which 2 colours could you combine to have the same number as the reds? (more than one correct answer)

Extension 2: repeat the activity, with the emphasis on second language learning i.e. learning colours in Irish or French or Welsh etc.

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Aim: to teach and practice the vocabulary and concepts of position in two languages e.g. English and Gaelic.

Definition: a position is the point where something is located, as on a map, or the posture it's arranged in, such as an "upright position." Position is also relative e.g. red brick in front of green. Position has many meanings but here we practice the language of spatial relationships.

Vocabulary development: top left, bottom right, centred, in front of, to the left of, upright, flipped, on it’s side, above, under, touching, beneath etc.

Procedure:

1. Take out a set of 6 bricks

2. Use your right hand to place the red brick on the top left-hand corner of your desk.

3. Put your right hand behind your back, use their left hands to pick up the yellow brick and place it in the top left-hand corner of your desk.

4. Put the blue brick in the middle of your desk.

5. Use both your hands at the same time to pick up the orange and the green bricks, to click the green brick on top of the orange brick, and to place them in the bottom left-hand corner of your desk.

Tips and ideas

The activity can also be used when learning a new language, to practice colours and positioning in the new language.

Extension 1: introduce an object to the table e.g. a pencil case. This opens up further possibilities.

With your left hand place a red brick to the right of the pencil case beneath a yellow brick.

With your right hand place an orange brick to the left of the case and a blue brick between the orange and the case.

Keep the vocab and requests appropriate to age and stage of pupils.

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Did such a concept even exist before the inception of Six Bricks? Is there no end to the exponential potential of these Six Lego Duplo Bricks! Thinking and innovating Six Bricks is like being trapped in a virtuous cycle, every new activity suggests a further two.

Take this for example: a previous activity involved separating the six bricks into warm and cold colours. All agree that the warm bricks are the red, orange and yellow; while the cold trio are comprised of the dark blue, light blue and green. Once children are agreed on the division of colours, all sorts of mental problem solving can be engaged.

In the following, we assign fractional values to the bricks, but this could just as easily be whole numbers, decimals, money values etc. Adapt the idea to the age and stage of your own students.

Aim: practice mental arithmetic - adding and subtracting halves and quarters.

Procedure:

Gather all students into a circle on the floor and you the teacher enter the ring as ring-master. Add energy and panache to the throwing down of bricks and the flair filled questioning!

Let the hot colour bricks each have the value of ¼, the cold colour bricks the value of 1/2 . Then ask questions.

1.    What is the value of the hot bricks?

2.    What is the value of the cold bricks?

3.    Throw 4 random bricks onto the table. What is the total value of the bricks?

4.    Throw 6 random bricks onto the table. What is the total value of the bricks? Now remove 2 bricks, what is the new total?

5.    Throw 5 bricks onto the table. Then move 1 brick to the side. Ask: what was the value of the pile, before I removed this brick?

Extension: What alternative values could you assign both groups of bricks and what problems could you have them consider, discuss and solve.

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If you are looking for ideas to apply Six Bricks in curriculum, then the Six Bricks Interactive Whiteboard Software is a great starting point and best of all, it is available to use for FREE!

It contains more than 30+ tools to use that include:

Measuring length & height

Counting 1 to 10

Addition to 10

The 42 Letter Sound Code

Word Blending

The 72 High Frequency ‘Tricky Words’

All 4 sets of Tables Facts

The Problem Solving Circle

Fractions / Decimals / percentages

Crossing the B-Line Mat

……………… and more.

TOP TIP 1: read the ‘Teacher Notes’ in the bar at the top of each tool to understand how to use it in the classroom.

Top Tip 2: Physical A3 Mats are available to purchase in the Six Bricks Education shop which match the interactive software mat.

Link here to Six Bricks Software

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As a teacher, you best know the learning needs of your own class.

Use your professional training, understanding, creativity and confidence to create your very own playful, skill building Six Bricks activities for your pupils.

Think of a singular area and consider what skills you want your children to practice?  We know that when they are engaged and challenged in playful ways, children practice skills for learning, for example.:

Language, such as describing in rich detail, giving clear instructions, explaining reasons, and telling stories, which helps them to communicate with others and express their ideas.

Problem solving, including to stay focused, and remember a task or a challenge, set goals and make plans, come up with creative ideas, and reflect on what they do and how they do it.

Collaboration, as in working together in pairs or teams, share turns and the materials they work with, learn from their peers and their ideas, and give each other roles and responsibilities.

Use the following template to create and sequence an activity.

Master Activity Template

My Activity Title: _________________

My children will learn to:
1.
2.
3.

My instructions are as follows:
1.
2.
3.

Extension Activity:

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This is a fun sociable game that is best played in small groups of 4 or 5 children

Children learn to:

Develop own ways of carrying out tasks

Keep attention and resist distraction

Remember and coordinate movements

Base Activity

1. In small groups, children sit at a table with their own bricks lying loose in their laps (hidden from view for the others).

2. When first child says: ‘Reveal Now!’ all children show a brick at the same time.

3. If the brick has the same colour as that of first child, you must hand over this brick to him or her.

4. Play two rounds for each child in the group.

5. Winner is the child with the most bricks.

Extension: play as above but clap every time you must hand over a red brick, knuckle knock on the table 3 times if you have to hand over a green brick.  Repeat the activity with different moves and different colours.

Guiding questions

How do you remember the right colour and moves?

What happens if you have to remember two moves and colours?

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Measuring length, width and height is one of the strand unit areas in mathematics. In the early years, children use non-standard units to take measurements and make comparisons. Six Bricks are a great non-standard unit. Later they will move to standard units such as centimetres, metres and kilometres. We know that the constructivist approach that incorporates the use of manipulatives actively engage children in discovery during their learning process.  During the learning activity, teachers facilitate this discovery by asking open-ended questions throughout the process.

Objective:

to develop perceptual skills

to measure and compare objects by length and width

to grasp new concepts such as measuring with non-standard units

Resources: 6 bricks, items to measure

Procedure

Working in pairs and using your bricks, can you measure and record how many bricks long is your shoe? How many bricks?  Was it exactly that number of bricks? Who has the longest pencil case?  Whose school bag was the longest / shortest; longer / shorter?

Use the bricks to measure physical objects in the classroom.  How many bricks long is your lunch box, your copy, the seat of your chair?  Compare sizes.

Hold up a number between 1 & 6.  Children must build the length of that number using the bricks.

Hold up a number between 1 & 6. Children find an object that matches that length. (estimation and actual measurement).

Record sheet: teachers can create sheets with 5 picture tasks to measure and a blank box to record the number of bricks. Once 5 objects are measured and recorded, discuss the data e.g. which was the longest object? Which was the shortest? The _________ was longer than the __________. The _________ was shorter than the _____________.

Link to Interactive Whiteboard Software

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Body percussion is using different parts of the body to make music.  How many sounds do you think you can make with your body?

Well - you can clap, snap, tap, stomp, click and I’m sure you can discover, list and practice many many more.

When doing a repetitive body percussion sequence, you can use your Six Bricks (or more) to help the class keep with the beat and the pattern.

Skills practised: you will challenge your sensory-motor skills, using your eyes and hands to coordinate movements.

Why: physically, this helps us to balance, walk and run, but also refreshes our energy and thinking while we enjoy being active.

This activity additionally makes for a great class ‘Brain Break’ at any time of the day!

Procedure:

1. Lay out your bricks in a row – some facing up, others down, others horizontally (see picture)

2. Give each position (up and down and horizontal) a sound e.g. a stomp or clap or jump– and ‘translate’ your visual pattern into movement and sounds

3. The sounds for the Six Bricks below are:
STOMP   STOMP  CLAP  CLAP  JUMP …….. (repeat for 5 goes)

Extension 1: Can you spice up the sequence with other brick positions and sounds?

Extension 2: Allow the children in groups to create and perform their own body percussion sequences.

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Target: All Classes

Learning Outcomes: children will challenge, practice and strengthen working memory skills.

Why: this skill allows us to hold information in our minds and to mentally work with it. We use it for tasks like remembering steps in a plan, connecting two ideas or combining words into whole sentences while we read.

Procedure:

1. Out of sight, teacher combines a number of bricks.

2. Teacher holds up the brick model for 3 seconds

3. Children see and try to remember the brick sequence

4. Children build the model from memory

5. Teacher holds back up original model and children compare and correct their own

Teaching Point: in infants, teacher will combine 2 and 3 bricks together in simple sequences e.g. in a straight stack. In higher classes, teacher will combine more bricks into more complex sequences.

Everybody benefits from good memory workouts.

Note three ways of working: teacher + whole class; in groups or in pairs.

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Grobby Escapes The Giant

A new twist on the ‘Hanging Around’ activity.

Notice the giant bricks, on the giant table with a giant yellow door into the giant’s room? And the Giant’s three pets! Just like Jack, poor Grobby needs to get to the ground and run away. Can you help Grobby?

This activity is all about playful fun and experimenting ……. trying out different ways to discover how many bricks you can get to over-hang the edge of the table without touching the floor. Often – so much of the work of the classroom has little challenge and mostly pre-determined processes and right or wrong answers. Then there’s activities like this one!

Children learn to:

Tackle new tasks confidently

Keep attention and resist distraction

Develop own ways of carrying tasks – this one involves a lot of trial & error

Record progress and solutions

Collaborate, cooperate, critically think and be creative

Tell, retell, write & illustrate a story

Resources: plenty of bricks per group

Procedure

Children can work alone, better in groups. They place one brick close to the edge of a table. The task is to see how many bricks can hang off the table. There will be plenty of trial and error, paying attention to ‘cause and effect’, noticing what happens when you do ‘x’, adjusting the approach and building on learning.

Ask guiding questions, probing questions as you circulate the groups

Challenge: how many bricks can you get to hang off the edge of your table to help Grobby escape?

1. How are you deciding what to do and who does what?

2. As you place more bricks on the overhang, what do you notice happening?

3. What solution seems to work best?

4. What was the greatest number of bricks you got to overhang the table?

5. How would the children determine the winning group?

Attempt 1: Bricks overhanging minus bricks on table = ?

Attempt 2: Bricks overhanging minus bricks on table = ?

Attempt 3: Bricks overhanging minus bricks on table = ?

It is important to chart progress and record attempts. The above approach will help the children determine the winning group, i.e. take the number overhanging, subtract the number counterbalancing on the table = total value of the overhang.

Literacy: tell, write & illustrate a story - "Grobby and The Giant'.

Lesson plenary: discuss the science within the activity: forces, pivot points, balancing, counter balancing etc

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Class Level: Infants to Sixth class

Aim:

Children will listen to and respond to a story

Children will write their own ‘Grobby Six Bricks’ story.

Children will illustrate their story.

The ‘Grobby Six Bricks - Farmyard Adventure’ is available as a beautifully illustrated hardback A4 book and is available from the Six Bricks Education Shop. Also linked in a performance reading by John Sharpson below.

Children participating in Six Bricks activities should know the Farmyard Adventure story.

Listen & Respond:

Once you have read or listened to the story with the children, there are 40 questions in the back of the book that you can pose the children, just 10 itemised below.

1. What was your favourite part of the book? Why?

2. Who was your favourite character? Why?

3. What does Grobby do at the frog pool?

4. Where does Grobby go to climb trees?

5. How many robins sing to Grobby in the tree?

6. If you could be an animal and live at Fairfield Farm for a year, which animal would you choose to become? Why?

7. Can you retell the story in order and in your own words?

8. Did you learn any new words from the story?

9. If you could change one thing in the book, what would it be?

Write & Illustrate:

Have the children write a narrative / adventure text, generating their own Grobby Six Bricks story. Here are suggested titles to choose from:

1. Grobby Sixbricks – Fairground Adventure

2. Grobby Six Bricks - The Tree House

3. Grobby Six Bricks – Trapped

4. Grobby Six Bricks – Alien Encounter

When the stories are finished through the ‘Writing Process Approach’, have the children illustrate and share them with classmates, friends, family …….. & here!

Another Grobby Six Bricks inspired literacy activity! (Just 1 of hundreds of great activities that feature in the online training course @ www.sixbrickstraining.com / Enrol & Start today!)

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Six Bricks Interactive Whiteboard Software

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Six Bricks Interactive Whiteboard Software

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Hi ALL Six Brickers,

Not sure how many of you know about the fantastic FREE Six Bricks Interactive Whiteboard Software which can be accessed at www.sixbrickseducation.com

The software is full of great ways to use Six Bricks in curriculum.

Tip 1: when you access the software and the 35+ tools, be sure to check out the ‘Teacher Notes’ above each toolbar to get an idea of how to operate and apply the software in curriculum.

Tip 2: for each of the software tools, there is a matching physical A3 Activity Mat that can be purchased in the Six Bricks Shop, also at the above link e.g. if you were an infants teacher using the ‘Counting Objects 1 to 10’ software tool, you could consider purchasing a set of A3 activity mats for ‘Counting Objects 1 to 10’ that the children will use in conjunction with you guiding with the software on the IWB.

This is an amazing software support to all Six Bricks Enthusiasts & Practitioners + it’s FREE!

Enjoy.

Link to software: www.sixbrickseducation.com

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Young children need to develop a suite of skills: fine motor control, hand-eye-coordination, concentration & focus, inhibitory control – to name just some skills that are practiced and grown with building Six Bricks Towers.

Synopsis:

Grobby and the gang are trying to develop Ostrich’s fine motor, concentration & coordination skills. Let’s just say, it’ll take a little time and lots of practice. (Note the way the chick chicks are keeping count, the goat is somewhat sulking that he’s not doing it, Grobby is encouraging, doggy is teaching froggy to extend jumping skills, and the alpaca is just happy for all!)

In the same way, we as teachers strap on our Six Bricks backpack every day and instruct our pupils well as we build out their skill sets on a daily basis.

Can your pupils build faster than Ostrich?

Children place their 6 bricks randomly in front of them on their tables

Pick up your dark blue brick, place it standing on a short end, studs facing you.

Use that same hand to pick up any brick next and balance it on top of the dark blue brick, also on its short end.

Repeat this action until you have balanced all 6 bricks.

Extension 1: compete against a partner, who can do it fastest?

Extension 2: combine 2 sets of bricks. How tall can you build your tower now? Who can build the tallest tower?

Extension 3: repeat this same exercise, building a 6 brick tower using your non-dominant hand or alternate hands.

Extension 4: can you do this exercise by using your thumb and forefinger only to pick up and place the bricks?

Extension 5: first children build their 6 brick towers. Now, using alternate right and left hands, can they remove each brick one at a time, without knocking all the bricks over?

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Fact: if a resource is easily classroom-managed then it will be used more often resulting in a greater educational dividend, if used well of course.

Six Bricks is such a resource. My initial reaction, all these bricks can’t be good!

Then we had the light bulb moment, well, after a lot of consideration really.

GROBBY was born!

The team here at Six Bricks Education invented the acronym GROBBY, and the children now stack their six bricks into a GROBBY at the end of an activity or working session, before one of the children goes around and gathers them up into the box which is placed back on the shelf, until the next time.

A box measuring 36cm x 24cm comfortably stores 30 X GROBBY stacks.

No bricks missing, all GROBBYs present and clearly accounted for.

Introduce your children to GROBBY and see the difference it makes to ease of classroom management. When I see Six Bricks now, I see GROBBY.

Classroom management of Six Bricks is clicked!

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Little Grobby Six Bricks sat upon a wall
Grobby Six Bricks had a great fall.
All the little rabbits and Henrietta hen
Helped to stick Grobby together again.

Synopsis: Grobby Six Bricks goes about Fairfield Farm with a backpack of Six Bricks strapped on. Grobby gets up to all sorts of adventure. Today, Grobby falls off a wall and the brick stack splits apart.

Learning Outcomes:

We are learning to say a rhyme to a rhythm and a beat.

We are learning to name colours in the GROBBY sequence

We are learning and exploring how 6 can be broken up.

We are asking and answering lots of good questions

Talk about & question:

1. Why did Grobby Six Bricks get that particular name?

2. What are the colours of Grobby’s bricks?

3. Are the bricks arranged in any particular order?

4. How did Grobby get up onto the wall?

5. What could have caused Grobby to fall from the wall?

6. How do you think Grobby felt after falling off the wall? What colour brick shows how Grobby feels?

7. How many parts did the brick stack split into when Grobby fell from the wall? Drop a stack of six bricks and see what happens. Draw what the bricks looked like on the ground.

8. Who helped to stick the bricks back into the backpack? How many helpers helped? How does Grobby feel now? What colour brick shows how Grobby feels now?

Task:

In groups, build a big patterned wall with your bricks.
Draw Humpty Dumpty & Grobby Six Bricks up on a wall and colour the wall in the Six Bricks colours.

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Focus: listening & speaking skills that involve describing accurately, articulating clearly and listening well

Organisation: Children work in pairs

Teacher explains the following:

Both partners have the same 3 bricks in their hands

Stand back to back

First child builds a model and then explains to the second child how to build it

The second child builds the model by listening to the instructions from the first (without looking)

No questions may be asked

Children then compare and check models

Q: Did the first child explain well?

Q: Did the second child listen well?

Q: Were you able to interpret your friend’s instructions?

Q: Did you succeed in building the same model? If not, can you see where you went wrong?

Children swop roles – second child builds and explains – first child listens and builds.

Teaching Point: always start these activities by limiting the number of bricks to be used, so that all can more likely achieve success.  In time and with practice, allow activities to grow to 4, then 5 and ultimately 6 bricks.

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Aim: To give the children a’ Physical & Perceptual Skills’ workout.

Skills Development: delivering a strenuous aerobic workout + exercising perceptual, short-term memory and problem solving skills whilst working cooperatively and collaboratively.

Age: 3 years to adult.

Materials: teams of 2 or 3, 2 base markers per team, plus 2 sets of Six Bricks.

Procedure: in the P.E. hall or out on the grass, for each team, place their Base A and Base B markers 50 metres apart. On Base B, place 6 bricks in a sequenced stack and 6 loose bricks beside the stack. Keep all teams at Base A while you place the stacks at Base B. Do not let the teams see the stack sequences.

Objective: on the whistle, each relay team, one runner at a time, will run to Base B, observe the stack, grab a single loose brick and bring it back to Base A, tag a member to go get the next brick etc. until all 6 loose bricks are on Base A, hopefully assembled to match the stack on Base B i.e. the Base A bricks should be stacked to match those on Base B.

Scoring: primarily teams work together and simply challenge themselves to get it right for the team. Alternatively, teams can compete against each other.

When all teams are back, they can retrieve the 6 bricks stack from Base B and compare with the stack on Base A - both should match.

Extensions 1: introduce obstacles to be negotiated on the return journey between the chairs. This has the effect of interfering with memory as they go under or over the obstacle, as a result some will mix up the brick sequence on Base B.

Extension 2: increase the complexity of the 6 bricks stack on Base B to match the cognitive load for the target audience.

This activity can be used in every setting from pre-school to corporate.

Feel free to offer adaptations and extensions.

Enjoy.