Patterns Are Everywhere! Grade Level: PreK Subject: Math Topic: Patterns Lesson Overview: Introduce students to the concept of patterns. They will lean how to recognize and recreate simple patterns. They will learn how to create their own patterns using shapes, their bodies, letters and objects found around the classroom. Ideas for extension and modifications are included in the lesson.
Fulfills State Standards for Math, Grades: P-K Strand 2: Patterns, Relations and Alegebra. A. Understand patterns, relations and algebra:
Goals: 1. Students will identify patterns 2. Students will duplicate and create their own patterns using different modalities 3. Students will be able to expand their knowledge of patterns to examples in text, song and everyday life situations.
Methods 1. Display a simple pattern (square, circle, square, circle) on a white board/velcro board that is held at the circle. Ask children to explain what they're looking at. The pattern will be a sequence of shapes that are 3D, cut out pictures displayed on the board. Children may come up and touch the shapes if they need to in order to gain understanding of what they are looking at. The expectation is that at least one student will identify the shapes as being laid out in a pattern.
2. Explain to the children that a pattern is a set of shapes that is repeated over and over again.
2. Open it up to a larger discussion of what makes a pattern and introduce other shapes in the sequence. Ask different students to come up and arrange the shapes in different patterns. Once they have laid out a pattern of four, ask the remaining students to continue the pattern orally.
3. Once the children have completed this simple task with shapes, name students to come up and stand in a row to show a pattern using themselves. Ask the children seated if they see a pattern. Start with the children's gender and move on to their clothing color, hair style, type of shoe, first letter of their first name, etc. using different children as time and interest allows. This will allow the children to use their bodies to demonstrate the concept of patterns and will give them the ability to act out each pattern.
4. After a few teacher directed patterns, the children will be split up to create their own patterns. These groups will be teacher assigned to begin with, according to each child's strength. Each group will work in their area to create a pattern following the ABABAB form, and are then encouraged to create their own, more complicated pattern. They will be asked to report their work back to the rest of the group. - Groups will be able to create patterns using a felt board and shapes, blocks in the block area, drawing paper and markers at the art table, or costumes in the dramatic play area (the patterns created through costumes will be documented by a teacher taking photographs). Markers and paper will also be made available to the felt and block group if they request them as a form of recording in order to report their work to the class. If necessary, another form of pattern building is through sound, and another group could be formed with blocks and/or instruments, as well as a tape recorder to record a sound pattern they discover.
5. After this small group work, the children will come back to the circle to report their findings, which will be photographed and/or videotaped by the teacher.
6. The photographs will be displayed in the room for the children to come back to over the next few weeks as they discover more patterns, in the classroom, outside and at home.
Extension Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? By Bill Martin Jr., Illustrated by Eric Carle. I will prep the children by asking them to turn their voices off and their listening ears on. During the first reading, I will not be stopping or asking for comments. When I read it the second time through, the children are encouraged to mention anything they notice about the story. I am looking for them to mention how the structure, the words, of the story forms a pattern. We can clap out the syllables as we read the pattern through another time.
A useful link is: http://www.linkslearning.org/Kids/1_Math/2_Illustrated_Lessons/5_Patterns/index.html This is a simple slideshow lesson on patterns, designed for kids. It gives simple definitions of what a pattern is, how to identify one and how to extend one. Part one would provide the same information given during the circle time portion of this lesson, but gives images and words for the child to follow along with. Parts three and four extend the lesson beyond what my lesson covers, but would provide more of a challenge for any student that might need it.
Materials may include but are not limited to: Students - felt board and felt shapes, drawing paper and markers, blocks, costumes in the dramatic play area Teachers - white board and dry erase markers, previously cut out paper/cardboard shapes, camera, tape recorder , camcorder/means to videotape children's exploration
Some other picture books on patterns:
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, By Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle (Henry Holt & Co., 1997) 3 Little Firefighters, by Stuart J. Murphy (HarperCollins, 2003) Beep Beep, Vroom Vroom!, by Stuart J. Murphy (HarperCollins, 2000) The Button Box, by Margarette S. Reid (Puffin, 1995) Shoes, by Elizabeth Winthrop (Harper & Row, 1986) Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf, by Lois Ehlert (Harcourt Children's Books, 1991)
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