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Lesson plan · Grade 2 · 30 minutes

Marching Band

I can tell if a number is odd or even by pairing, and write an array as repeated addition.

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Standard
2.OA.C CCSS-Math
Shape
Explore first
Grouping
Whole class on the carpet, then partners.
You need
The tool on the big screen with sound on. Counters or cubes for each pair. Whiteboards.
Tool
curioclass.org/tools/marching-band/
  1. Hook3 min
  2. Explore12 min
  3. Make sense5 min
  4. Apply7 min
  5. Exit check3 min

Before class

  • Open Partners with 7 musicians.
  • There's no score. The point is noticing patterns and saying them out loud.
  • Keyboard: + and − change the band, M marches. Sound starts on; click any musician to hear them play.

Hook 3 min

  1. "Everyone find a partner!" If your class count is odd, notice who is left. "What happened?"
  2. "Let's see which numbers always leave someone alone."

Explore 12 min

  1. With 7 musicians, ask: "Does everyone have someone to march with?" The class spots the one alone.
  2. Add one musician at a time. Before each click, the class calls out "partner" or "alone."
  3. Collect the "alone" numbers on the board: odd. Collect the "partner" numbers: even.
  4. Press March! with an even band and then an odd one.

Make sense 5 min

  1. "Which numbers always leave someone alone? What do they end in?" (1, 3, 5, 7, 9.)
  2. "An even number is two equal groups: 8 is 4 + 4." Show this with a band of 8.

Apply 7 min

  1. Switch to Rows. Set 3 rows of 4. Read the sentence together: 4 + 4 + 4 = 12.
  2. "Can 12 musicians march in a different shape?" The tool keeps a list of every way the class finds.
  3. Partners build arrays with counters and write the repeated addition on whiteboards.
  4. Try 5 or 7. "Why won't it make a rectangle?"

Exit check 3 min

On whiteboards: "Is 9 odd or even? Draw it as partners to show how you know." Then: "Write 2 rows of 5 as an addition sentence." (5 + 5 = 10.)

Support and stretch

  • Support: pair counters on a desk before naming odd or even.
  • Support: stay with numbers up to 10.
  • Stretch: "Is 15 odd or even? How do you know without counting them all?"
  • Stretch: find every array for 16 and 18.

Short on time

  • Partners from 7 to 12, calling out "partner" or "alone" (6 min).
  • One array in Rows (4 min).

How each button works is in the teacher notes. From Curio Class, free under CC BY 4.0: change it, print it, share it.