Bottle Top Bugs – What do you notice?

Digit Dog and Calculating Cat have arranged their bugs in 4 rows of 4.

What do you notice?

How many ways can you finish the sentence?

I notice that……….

Is Calculating Cat correct? Or has she made a mistake? Convince me. Explain your thinking.

What can you say about:

• the rows?
• the columns?
• the number of bugs?
• patterns in the numbers on the bugs’ backs?
• diagonal patterns?
• odd ones out?
• totals of spots?
• their eyes?
• anything else?

Digit Dog is also asking What do you wonder?

Look at the bugs and finish the sentence – I wonder…………..

How many ways can you finish the sentence? You might say things like:

I wonder what the total of each row is……

I wonder which row has the lowest total……..

I wonder if I can arrnage the bugs in order………

Collect the I wonder statements to use as challenges and activities.