Count the Squares for Sixth Grade

Here is the problem Sixth Graders will be working on for their third week of I Love Math problems.  Though seemingly simple, this confronts students with the need to "see" in creative ways.  Once they begin to see, they need to organize their thinking, and find efficient ways to count.  Along the way, they will have to look for patterns and test their predictions.

Join the fun.  How many squares do you see?  Please send your solutions to glawrence@mustardseedschool.org

Count the Squares

Look at this checkerboard.  How many squares do you see?

 

In one class, a student saw one square.

Another student saw 64 squares.

Another student said 65.

Another student saw more.

Explain what each student was seeing.