What’s the same? What’s different?

Noticing similarities and differences is key to spotting patterns and reasoning mathematically.

Ask learners “What is the same?” “What is different?”

Explaining what you notice improves your mathematical language and thinking.

Look at the two sets of bugs and find similarities and differences. Accept all answers. Encourage learners to keep looking for more. Make a list that can be added to during the day / week.

What can you say about the two groups of bugs? What do you notice?

Can you think of anything that is the same?

I can see that each group has 3 bugs. Each group has the same number of bugs.

Encourage and model the use of full sentences.

Anything else?

In each group, the bugs have different coloured eyes.

The number of spots on all the bugs in both groups is an even number.

If you add up the number of spots, in each group the total is more than 10 .

Both groups have two bugs with a double.

Can you think of more things that are the same?

What about the differences? What is different about the two groups?

I can see that one group has all green bugs and the other has different colours.

Any other differences?

The total number of spots in each group is different.

All the bugs in Calculating Cat’s group have more than 7 spots, Digit Dog’s bugs have less than 7.

The total number of spots is different. Digit Dog’s total is half Calculating Cat’s total.

Make up some of your own like this one.