SIMCC Games · Teacher guide
Tower Moves
Move a tower of rings to another peg, one at a time, never large on small.
- Trains
- Planning steps in order · Number patterns: 1, 3, 7, 15 · Breaking a problem into smaller ones
- Ages
- 7 and up
- In class
- On your own. One device each. Choose First steps: three teaching towers of 1, 2 and 3 rings.
A ten-minute starter
- Show about 2 minDraw three pegs and a tower of 3 rings. Move one ring at a time, only a top ring, and never put a larger ring on a smaller one. Ask the class to plan the first move.
- Play about 6 minStudents choose First steps and finish the three towers. Then Lower Division: 3 or 4 rings. Aim for the fewest moves.
- Talk about 2 minWrite the fewest moves: 1 ring 1, 2 rings 3, 3 rings 7. Ask the class to predict 4 rings, and to say the plan.
Questions to ask the class
- What is the fewest number of moves for 4 rings?Listen for: 15: double 7, then add 1.
- Before the biggest ring can move, where must the others be?Listen for: All on the spare peg.
- What is the plan for any tower?Listen for: Move the rings above out of the way, move the biggest, then move them back on top.
A common mistake
Moving the smallest ring back and forth without a plan.
How to help: Ask: which ring has to reach the goal peg first? Hint (H) shows the next move of a shortest solution and says why. Undo does not lower the move count.
Assign it
On the coach dashboard, choose your class under Cohorts. In Assign practice, pick Tower Moves and the drill First steps or Move the tower, add a due date if you want one, then press Assign. Students find it on their Train page.
Set First steps for a new class, then Move the tower.
Results show on the dashboard by student and by game once the server has checked them.