This is a neat introduction to the Fibonacci sequence, along with How Many Ways Maze, and Male and Female Bees. In all three investigations, students see the Fibonacci sequence as they solve these interesting problems. I prefer to have different groups working on different problems, then share their findings, but these could be each be used as separate investigations for all students.

This task is great because it begs students to get up and move to test their thoughts. Students may want to use actual stairs to investigate. If that is not doable, placing pieces of paper on the floor to represent different numbers of steps works just as well.

These are open tasks for students to solve and are a bit problematic – especially this task and How Many Ways Maze. Working with a partner or in a small group of 3 would be ideal for middle grades students to solve these tasks.