We love this post from Kathryn of Kindergarten...Kindergarten! Her five day patterning unit, chock full of interesting and challenging exercises, will help your kinders think critically about patterns {beyond just making 'pretty designs'} and build a solid foundation for future math success!
Lesson Progression
- In the first lesson, students explore pattern creation using various manipulatives to copy an example pattern. At the end of the lesson, students should be able to find the pattern core, recognizing that 'orange, orange, blue, orange, orange, blue' is comprised of the same core pattern as 'square, square, circle, square, square, circle'.
- In the second lesson, students learn about naming patterns {i.e. AB, AAB, ABB, etc}, experimenting with more pattern creation and strengthening pattern core recognition.
- Kathryn's third lesson has students exploring number patterns.
- The fourth and fifth lessons invite students to apply what they've learned to think critically about and solve a patterning problem. Talk about different problem solving methods, provide various problem solving tools, and see what happens!
Head on over to Kindergarten...Kindergarten... for more information about this unit and other fantastic lesson ideas to use in the classroom!
