3-Act Tasks
3-Act tasks provide engaging, thought-provoking contexts for mathematical enquiry. Act 1 shows the context for the enquiry and allows children to generate questions - what do they wonder? What extra information do they need? In act 2, more information is provided; children are then given the chance to speculate and calculate before the solution is revealed in act 3!
The concept of 3-act tasks is explained in this brilliant Dan Meyer TED talk and the examples below have been written by the inspirational Graham Fletcher - click here to see all of Graham's 3-act tasks. I hope to design some 3-act tasks of my own soon!
| Suggested Year Group | Title (click link) | Description | Author |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reception-Y1 | Dotty | On each 'ding' a new circle appears; count the sounds to work out the number of circles in the final pattern. | Graham Fletcher |
| Reception-Y1 | The Candyman | The man puts a coin in the candy machine - how many sweets are released into his hand? | Graham Fletcher |
| Reception-Y1 | Peas in a Pod | In act 1 we see the number of peas in two green beans; how many peas are there in the three new green beans? | Graham Fletcher |
| Y1-Y2 | Humpty Dumpty | Oh no - the egg box is knocked to the floor: how may eggs are broken? | Graham Fletcher |
| Y1-Y2 | Counting Squares | How many red and yellow squares are there in the big pile? And can children make the pattern shown in act 2? | Graham Fletcher |
| Y1-Y2 | Share the Love | It's never easy sharing sweets: help the two sisters to share the bag of sweets in a way that is fair. | Graham Fletcher |
| Y1-Y2 | Shark Bait | Just how long is the worm on the beach? Estimate its length using the clues provided. | Graham Fletcher |
| Y2-Y3 | The Cookie Monster | The cookie monster has found a packet of biscuits: how many does he eat? Act 2 shows how many left in the packet! | Graham Fletcher |
| Y3-Y4 | The Whopper Jar | It takes a few packets of Whoppers to fill up the jar: how many Whoppers are in the jar in total? | Graham Fletcher |
| Y3-Y4 | Bright Idea | The age-old question: how many skittles does it take to fill a lightbulb? | Graham Fletcher |
| Y3-Y5 | Stage 5 Series | Explore and recreate different patterns to continue the sequences - five different videos. | Graham Fletcher |
| Y4-Y5 | Modelling Outfits | How many ways can Zoolander be dressed? Think systematically to find the solution! | Graham Fletcher |
| Y4-Y5 | Rope Jumper | We see the start of a world record jump-rope attempt: scale up to estimate the number of jumps done in 30 seconds! | Graham Fletcher |
| Y4-Y5 | Paper Cut | The A4 paper is cut into two pieces: estimate and compare the two areas. | Graham Fletcher |
| Y4-Y5 | The Water Boy | The water boy is thirsty: how many millilitres of water does he drink? | Graham Fletcher |
| Y5-Y6 | The Clapper | We see the start of a clapping world record attempt: predict the number of claps in one minute. | Graham Fletcher |
| Y5-Y6 | Krispy Kreme | It takes three people to get the gigantic Krispy Kreme box into a van: how many donuts? | Graham Fletcher |
| Y5-Y6 | For the Win | It's a black ball game: the player must get his angles right to pot the final ball and win the frame! | Graham Fletcher |
| Y5-Y6 | Geared Up | After one turn, the differently-sized gears don't line up - how many turns until they are back to their starting positions? | Graham Fletcher |
| Y6 | The Apple | How many cubes weigh the same as one apple? Act 2 shows the weight of the apple and one cube as a fraction. | Graham Fletcher |
| Y6 | Overflow | How many cubes go into the container to make the water overflow? Act 2 gives the dimensions of container and cube! | Graham Fletcher |
Robert Kaplinsky's Open Middle Tasks also give excellent opportunities for mathematical exploration.