NARRATOR:'Ready, steady, Number Squad. Bring on the numbers. Here's Rodd.'
RODD:Number Squad. I'm gonna sing for you. Hey-ya. Hey-ya. Testing. Testing. I thought I fixed this. Oh, wait a second. I forgot to put in the new batteries. I've got a box of four right here.
RODD:Now, hey, you know batteries should only be changed by grown-ups. Of course you do. Now, this microphone needs two batteries. One goes in like that, and the other like that. Sorted. Hey. Hey-ya. Hey-ya.
Number Squad. How many batteries left in the box
RODD:Now, there were four batteries in the box, and I took two out, so I'm thinking, "How many batteries are left?" And can we work it out without looking in the box? I think we can.
We're gonna need a little mathematical action. Figuring it out, just using subtraction
CAPTION:Counting with Rodd.
UPBEAT MUSIC
RODD:How many batteries were in the full box? Four. Well done. Let's pretend each of the balls on my abacus is a battery. Can you count four with me? Nice. Okay, here we go. One. Two. Three. Four. Well done. But we took two batteries out of the box. So…
RODD:How many are left? There are… Count with me. One, two. Shall we check the box to be sure? Okay. One, two. Four, take away two, leaves two. That's subtraction. Four, take away two, is two. Oh, oh, and speaking of batteries, there's someone I'd like you to meet.
UPBEAT MUSIC
AUDIO MARKER:FUTURISTIC MUSIC
AUDIO MARKER:ROBOT SOUNDS
NARRATOR:'Attention, attention, Number Squad. He's cutting the moves. It's Robot Rodd.'
RODD:You like? I have an idea. Can you be a robot, too? Yeah. Come on. Copy me. Move your head like this.
AUDIO MARKER:ROBOT SOUNDS
RODD:That's great. Okay, move your arms like this.
AUDIO MARKER:ROBOT SOUNDS
RODD:Oh, no. Our batteries have gone flat, like this. And I can't dance without them. Can you mime opening your front panels? Yeah, just like that. Okay. Well, I'll take two batteries out of this box. There we go. And… There. Now…
RODD:Okay, tell me this, How many are left in the box? Exactly. Two left to use next time. Are you ready to dance like a robot? You got your pretend batteries in? Okay. All right. Close the panel, and screwdriver shut.
AUDIO MARKER:IMITATES ELECTRIC SCREWDRIVER
RODD:Ready, steady, dance.
AUDIO MARKER:FUTURISTIC MUSIC
AUDIO MARKER:ROBOT NOISES
RODD:We had four batteries in the box. When we take away two, or count back two, that leaves two!
RODD:
If you ever want to be clever Take away, there's gotta be less. From the four, take away two. And you know there's only two left. If you want to know what to do Listen up, I'm telling you. Easy when you're on the track. Feels so good when you count them back. I'm feeling number-y
RODD:Goodbye. See you next time.
AUDIO MARKER: KIDS CHEERING
Rodd finds his microphone is faulty. He repairs it by putting in 2 new batteries from a pack of 4.
Rodd challenges the children to work out how many batteries are left in the pack, without looking at it.
The children can join in counting with Rodd’s special abacus, with finger counting, pretending to be robots, checking on the number track and singing a number rap about how ‘4 take away 2 leaves 2’.
This is from the series: Counting with Rodd Counting with Rodd 2
Teacher Notes
Students could take on the role of a robot as Rodd did in the clip.
Students could dance to music but when the music stops they could pretend that their batteries have run out.
A box of batteries could be created from rolled up paper or cardboard tubes.
Two batteries could be given to the first robot without showing them the inside of the box.
Can the students work out how many must be left in the box? Each student who works this out correctly could be rewarded with their two batteries.
This could be repeated until there are no batteries left in the box.
Curriculum Notes
This clip is relevant for teaching Maths at KS1 in England, Foundation Phase in Wales and Early and 1st Level in Scotland. Also Foundation and KS1 in Northern Ireland.
More from the series: Counting with Rodd Counting with Rodd 2
Maths KS1: Subtracting 2 from 8. video
Rodd the pirate sees an advert for a parrot costing 2 gold pieces. Rodd involves the children in counting the 8 gold pieces in his chest, and has them think about whether he has enough coins.
Maths KS1: Adding 2 to 8. video
Rodd has made a birthday cake for his mascot dog called Patch. He is putting the candles on Patch’s cake, and asks us to work out how old she is.
Maths KS1: Adding 2 to 2. video
Rod learns about the addition of 2 plus 2 by counting on his special abacus.
Maths KS1: Subtracting 1 from 11. video
Rodd is playing table football when he discovers that one of the players is injured. Rodd invites the children to help him work out how many players are left on the team, using subtraction.
Maths KS1: Adding 1 to 3. video
Rodd practises adding one and three together by counting the buttons on his clown coat and juggling with fruit. He asks the children to join in with a clown footsteps game and a number rap.
Maths KS1: Counting down from 10. video
Rodd is about to do a test countdown and asks the children to help him count down from 10, checking to see that as he says each number, each light on his rocket goes out.
Maths KS1: Adding from 1 to 20. video
Rodd has a bad cold and is at home. Bored, he looks out of his window and counts the cars on a bridge. Realising that he needs to count more than 10, he has the idea of making an unusual abacus...
Maths KS1: Adding 1 to 6. video
Rodd practises adding one and six together by using his marble run, a rollercoaster and singing the Six Plus One rap.
Maths KS1: Subtracting 1 from 5. video
Rodd is trying to squeeze 5 jumpers into his camping rucksack. He has to take 1 out, and shows us that we can use subtraction to work out how many jumpers are left inside.
