MATH4

Back to Kindergarten =CHPT 4 PATTERNING=

Culminating Project: Patterns All Around
I have students look for patterns that exist in the classroom, on the playground, down the hall-where ever they can find them. We take digital pictures and make a class book. Day #1 Take students on a pattern walk. Search for patterns like thestripes on the flag, maybe children sitting at a table (boy, girl, boy, girl) or maybe out front of the school (tree, wall, tree, wall). Youcan choose to take pictures now or wait until you have more ideas. Upon returning to the classroom, make a list of all the patterns you found. Day #2 Continue your list until there are enough ideas so that eachchild can be a photographer, even if you have to fabricate somepatterns, (like arranging children on swings so there is one empty, onefull, one empty, one full, etc.) Have each child decide what picturethey will take and write their name next to that idea. Day #3 Have students take pictures with digital cameras (small groups work best if possible) Day #4 Show students a slideshow of the pictures and record them explaining the pattern individually or chorally as a class. Day #5 Publish. You can publish online as a podcast or slideshow or print out the pictures and words and arrange as a book.

KidPix Project Sample Coming

Whole Class Presentations and Online Games
[|Animated Presentation about Patterns] [|Online Pattern Block Mat]is similar to the Kidpix look and feel but only uses pattern blocks.Great way to model using pattern blocks to build things or if you don'thave pattern blocks, let the kids use this site independently.

This [|multiple choice]activity is slightly dry and test-prep format based, but it requiresstudents to think of the next 2 sequences in the pattern and then pickthem out of very similiar looking answers. Good for critical thinkingand observation and also a test prep skill: thinking of the rightanswer before you look at the available answers.

Independent Online Games
a student version is available at [|TechCenters]

[|Pigeon Patterns] has students guessing which pigeon will come next in the sequence. Make sure the kids have headphones:)

[|Stamp a Pattern]is similar to KidPix. It's just a playground. I would have studentswork in pairs with the first student creating the pattern and the nextstudent extending the pattern.

[|Crazy Pattern Machine]gives students two choices and they must click on the correct missingpart of the pattern. Slightly more difficult because the pieces aremissing from inside the pattern not just at the end.

[|Check out Cookie]is a game with Cookie Monster. Food comes down on a conveyor belt andstudents must pick the right food off the shelf to finish the pattern.And then of course cookie monster eats it all. You may want to warnkids that they need to click to choose the food and click again to dropoff the food.

Challenge Games
[|How does my pattern grow?]