Unless the moderator tells me not to, I'm going to start posting some lesson 
plan files I've gotten off of AOL.  -ZR
Building Towers
Starter:  If you have 3 hats and 3 jackets, how many different 
combinations of a hat and a jacket can you wear?
Answer:  9 combinations
        Students may manipulate different-colored counters or draw 
diagrams to solve this problem.  Some may reason that each of the 
3 hats can be paired with each of the 3 jackets, leading to 3x3 combinations.
Materials:
        Unifix Cubes or Color Tiles
        Paper to record towers
        Crayons or markers to match their cubes or tiles
Lesson:  Building Towers
        Tell the students that the towers they build today will have 
3 colors of cubes.  Have pairs choose 3 colors and select the cubes 
of those color from the cube supplies.  Next instruct the class that 
they will build their towers to follow these rules:
        The towers should all have 3 floors.
        The 3 floors in each tower must each be a different color.
Have  pairs work with their cubes, trying to find all of the unique 
tower combinations that follow the construction rules.  Make a recording 
to show all of the towers you build.
        Regroup to see how many unique towers the students found.  
Have pairs share their solutions.  Now change the rules a bit.  
This time the following rules apply:
        The towers have 3 floors.
        You may use any combination of your 3 colors so that some 
towers may have more than one story of the same color.  
        Have pairs build towers together and record all of the unique 
arrangements they find given the new construction rule.  In their 
journal have them write a description of how they went about finding 
all of the solutions to this tower problem.  The sentence frame can 
be used for this. 
Extension:
        Have the students write their own rules and try to find the 
solutions.  Pairs develop and record a set of towers rules.  Each 
set of rules should tell:
        How many floors the tower should have (3 or 4).
        Which colors should be used;
        Whether or not color repetitions within a tower are allowed.
After writing rules, pairs should try to solve their own problems.  
On a separate sheet, have them record as many unique solutions as 
they can find.
Name ____________________________
Building Towers
I made _______ towers during this activity.  
I organized my search by ______________________________________
_______________________________________________________________.
The towers that were the easiest to find were _________________
_______________________________________________________________.
I thought the towers that were the hardest to find were _______
_______________________________________________________________.  
I made sure I did not count the same tower more than once by 
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________.
I (do / don't) think that I found all of the different combinations because
_______________________________________________________________.  
        
        
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