Number PAtterns
Zombie Paintball is a very engaging game that the kids LOVED to play. You observe the number line at the bottom and determine what the number relationship is from number to number. Then you have to hit the appropriate zombie with a paintball to fill in the missing pattern number. Occasionally, a ghost appears and asks you what the number rule is as well. (Patterns and Relations 5, P1)
Line Dry is another fun online game that allows kids to find and solve for a missing number in the number line. This game is nice and quick and could easily be pulled up on the Smartboard for each kid to solve one question as a review.
Number Pattern Snakes & Ladders
This game was a continuation of a game using a 100s chart that was in our textbook. Kids draw a "fate card" (or could roll a die, or draw cards, etc.) to see what number they will start on during the game and put a playing chip on that square. Then they roll a die to see how many squares they will advance by each time that it is their turn. They record their number rule on their recording sheet. For example, if my fate card says "you start on 11" and I roll a 6, then I will write "I start on 11 and move up by 6 each turn" on my sheet. However, because there are snakes and ladders that might interfere with your regular pattern, each time that you hit a snake or a ladder, you must re-write your rule to state what number you are now starting on. By the end of the game, students will have all of their moves accounted for on the recording sheet, and they will hopefully have a new appreciation to understand why it is important to state what you are STARTING at with each "pattern rule". NOTE: Some kids kept on getting the same rolls and so one player was just following the other player (so they would obviously lose the game), so I decided to shake the game up even more so that the kids could have practice trying multiple number pattern increments instead of just one consistent one throughout the game. In the second variation, I still had kids draw a "fate card" to start and roll a die, but then I made the rule that they roll the die EVERY time you hit a snake OR a ladder. So when a snake or ladder is hit, you write down your new 'starting point' on the recording sheet, but now you re-roll to see what your pattern will increase by until you hit another snake or ladder again. The kids had a lot of fun playing this game and I will definitely use it again!
Physically Building with Manipulatives
While teaching the number patterns and relations unit, I wanted the kids to be able to have as much "hands-on integration" as possible so that they could have a physical concept of what each number represents (because the class is low at number sense).Below are some examples of the materials that I used in order for kids to find the patterns and chart the number relationships.
While teaching the number patterns and relations unit, I wanted the kids to be able to have as much "hands-on integration" as possible so that they could have a physical concept of what each number represents (because the class is low at number sense).Below are some examples of the materials that I used in order for kids to find the patterns and chart the number relationships.
Number Line Sorting
Make some number patterns about 5 patterns in length on different colored pieces of paper and then cut them up so that each number is separated. Place each color-coordinated number line into a baggie, let each group take one bag. Have them work together as a group to put the numbers into the correct order, and then have them continue the pattern to determine what the next 3 numbers would be in that pattern. If desired, have students write down the whole number line, the continued pattern, as well as what the "rule" was. Students can take turns passing baggies around until they have completed all of them. (This is a great way to introduce the topic, especially if you make up a sheet that forces them to do some of the number lines from highest to lowest as well).
Make some number patterns about 5 patterns in length on different colored pieces of paper and then cut them up so that each number is separated. Place each color-coordinated number line into a baggie, let each group take one bag. Have them work together as a group to put the numbers into the correct order, and then have them continue the pattern to determine what the next 3 numbers would be in that pattern. If desired, have students write down the whole number line, the continued pattern, as well as what the "rule" was. Students can take turns passing baggies around until they have completed all of them. (This is a great way to introduce the topic, especially if you make up a sheet that forces them to do some of the number lines from highest to lowest as well).
How Many Kids and Desks?
Get the kids up and moving by doing a number pattern to see how many students can fit around each desk when there is 1 desk, 2 desks, etc and only one person on each side! Chart the relationship of the desk to student ratio.
Desks: 1, 2, 3, 4
Students: 4, 7, 10
Desks: 1, 2, 3, 4
Students: 4, 7, 10
Sticks and 'Shmallows
Toothpicks and marshmallows can be a great manipulative for building various shapes and discovering a pattern. For my class, we built a chain of connected squares, then a chain of connected cubes. Students had to build the structures, then count the individual pieces of both toothpicks and marshmallows for each example and fill them in on a chart. After the first example, the kids should recognize that it was way faster to look for a number pattern than it is to build the entire structure! This type of hands-on activity is beneficial because the visual learners can actually physically touch and count the individual pieces, but I also like doing this activity because it makes kids consider WHY their pattern rule is always supposed to state with they started with before declaring what the pattern is ( or else you would have the incorrect amount of materials to build with!)
Building squares:
Squares: 1, 2, 3
Sticks: 4, 7, 10, (Start with 4 and increase by 3)
Marshmallows: 4, 6, 8, (Start with 4 and increase by 2)
Squares: 1, 2, 3
Sticks: 4, 7, 10, (Start with 4 and increase by 3)
Marshmallows: 4, 6, 8, (Start with 4 and increase by 2)
Building Cubes:
Cubes: 1, 2, 3,
Sticks: 12, 20, 28 (start with 12 and increase by 8)
Marshmallows: 8, 12, 16 (start with 8 and increase by 4)
Cubes: 1, 2, 3,
Sticks: 12, 20, 28 (start with 12 and increase by 8)
Marshmallows: 8, 12, 16 (start with 8 and increase by 4)
Necklace Patterns:
I let students attempt to build their OWN patterns (repeating 3 times), then they had to draw their pattern, and solve for how many beads they would need for a necklace that repeated that patter 7, 11, and 16 times. Students filled in their own chart as an "answer key", and then they swapped their necklace with someone else, and solved for someone else's. The kids were excited that they would get to keep their necklaces, and it was a good chance to practice some fine-motor skills in math! I believe that this was an example that was relevant to these kids, because some of them started discussing how they have ran into problems like this before while making their rainbow loom (current fad) bracelets, where they started with a pattern and then ran out of one color and had to start over. Hopefully after this lesson, they won't run into that problem again because they can find out the pattern ahead of time!
I let students attempt to build their OWN patterns (repeating 3 times), then they had to draw their pattern, and solve for how many beads they would need for a necklace that repeated that patter 7, 11, and 16 times. Students filled in their own chart as an "answer key", and then they swapped their necklace with someone else, and solved for someone else's. The kids were excited that they would get to keep their necklaces, and it was a good chance to practice some fine-motor skills in math! I believe that this was an example that was relevant to these kids, because some of them started discussing how they have ran into problems like this before while making their rainbow loom (current fad) bracelets, where they started with a pattern and then ran out of one color and had to start over. Hopefully after this lesson, they won't run into that problem again because they can find out the pattern ahead of time!
Pennies and Sticks
Similar to the models above, below is another simple example of how a teacher could demonstrate a pattern using materials such as toothpicks and coins.
# of triangles: 1, 2, 3
# of toothpicks: 3, 5, 7
# of pennies: 3, 4, 5,
Similar to the models above, below is another simple example of how a teacher could demonstrate a pattern using materials such as toothpicks and coins.
# of triangles: 1, 2, 3
# of toothpicks: 3, 5, 7
# of pennies: 3, 4, 5,