Recognizing Patterns
Recognizing Patterns Lesson Plan
Abstract
Students learn will about patterns through physical activities,
class discussions, and the use of computer applets.
Standards (NCTM 3-5)
Algebra
Understand patterns, relations, and functions
- describe, extend, and make generalizations about geometric and numeric patterns;
- represent and analyze patterns and functions, using words, tables, and graphs.
Student Prerequisites
- Technological:
Students must be able to:
- perform basic mouse manipulations such as point,
click and drag.
- use a browser such as Netscape for experimenting with
the activities.
Teacher Preparation
Students will need:
- access to a browser
- access to pencil and paper
Lesson Outline
- Focus and Review
- After the class is seated, ask them to follow along with what you are
about to do.
- Begin rotating between patting your legs and clapping your hands: pat, clap,
pat, clap, etc.
- Once the entire class is following along, ask someone to raise their
hand and tell the class how they knew what to do.
- Ask students if anyone else has a different answer. The answer
you are looking for will contain the word pattern.
- Tell the students to join in and follow along as soon as they know what you are
doing.
- Begin: clap, pat, tap (on a desk), clap, pat, tap, clap, etc.
- Once the entire class is following, along ask someone to raise his/her
hand and tell the class how they knew what to do.
- Ask students if anyone else has any different answers. The answer you
are looking for will contain the word pattern.
- Continue this process making the pattern increasingly more difficult to decipher
each time.
- Objectives
Students will be able to recognize patterns and fill in missing segments of patterns.
- Teacher Input
- If the students have not already mentioned the word pattern, tell them that
the exercise they just finished contained various patterns.
- Ask the class if anyone can come up with a different type of pattern that doesn't
involve movement.
- Call several students to the front of the class and have them share the
beginning of their patterns with the class.
- Ask the class if anyone can complete the patterns provided by their
classmates.
- If none of the students think of any shape patterns
place a few of them on the board and have the students complete the patterns.
Be sure to ask questions about each pattern.
- Does anyone see a pattern?
- What pattern do you see?
- What do you think will come next?
- Is there more than one possible pattern?
- Guided Practice
- Instruct the students to spend about 3-5 minutes playing with
the Tessellations applet.
- After they have had a few minutes to become familiar with the applet, ask
if anyone knows what the applet is doing.
- Did anyone notice any patterns created by the applet?
- What patterns did you see?
- Have the students take out a sheet of paper,
extend the following number sequences, and explain how they
determined the subsequent numbers in the sequences.
You may want to do the first one with the students.
- 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 ...
- 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 ...
- 0, 10, 20, 30, 40...
- 1, 3, 9, 27, 81... (# * 3)
- 0, 1, 3, 7, 15, 31... (# * 2 + 1)
- Are these patterns? Why?
- Independent Practice
- Have the students open the Patterns
applet.
- Direct the students to complete the sequences provided. You may want to
have the students copy a few lines of the computer generated patterns to ensure
each student is on task.
- Now, instruct the students to open the Sequencer
applet, and have them begin creating new sequences using the applet.
- Once the students have created their sequences, have them swap the number sequences
with a partner, and instruct their partners to utilize the sequencer applet to help
them decipher the sequence patterns.
- Closure
- Discuss patterns and their occurrences in nature, society, school,
and math.
- Answer any remaining questions.
Extentions:
You can also use the Coloring Multiples in Pascal's Triangle
and the Coloring Remainders in Pascal's Triangle
applets to help students recognize number patterns.