Activity - Create-a-Bear Permutations

Estimated Time

40 min

Today the students will be working at the Create-a-Bear store in the mall. They will be creating a display to show all of the little children how they can dress the bears.
The big decision is this: in what order do you want to line the bears up in the display?

Set the stage for the students as if they are working at the "Create-a-Bear" store in the mall. Their job is to make a poster showing all of the possible ways the bears can be placed in a line (permutations).*Use the paper bears to discover all of the possible orders in which you can put them in line. Suggestion: use three bears to begin with, then more or less.
Organize the different arrangements so that patterns can be easily detected using a chart, organized list, or other model.
Record all of the possible permutations (order in which they can be arranged) in an organized fashion using a tree diagram, organized list, table, picture, etc.

Have students work in groups or individually to use the paper bears to find all of the orders in which the bears can be arranged in line if there are 3 bears. (You may change the number as desired.)
Have students record their results as a tree diagram, orga¬nized list, chart, etc., on the blank paper. It's important that the students see a connection between the manipulatives and the diagrams they create.
Discuss the mathematical patterns that exist in this problem

How many different 2 digit numbers can be formed using the digits 1,2,3 and 4?

bear,permutation,arrangement To link back to the concept page Permutations_And_Combinations