Repeating Patterns

Strand: Patterns and Relations (Patterns)
Outcomes: 1, 2

Step 3: Plan for Instruction

Guiding Questions

What learning opportunities and experiences should I provide to promote learning of the outcomes and permit students to demonstrate their learning?
What teaching strategies and resources should I use?
How will I meet the diverse learning needs of my students?

A. Assessing Prior Knowledge and Skills

Before introducing new material, consider ways to assess and build on students' knowledge and skills related to patterns and relations. For example:

Demonstrate simple ABAB patterns for students and ask them to repeat the patterns. Use a variety of ways to represent the patterns; e.g., clap, stomp, clap, stomp or show the ABAB pattern using pattern blocks on the overhead projector.
Give students some ABAB pattern strips showing, for example, happy face, sad face, happy face, sad face. For some of the patterns, ask them to continue the pattern, repeating it at least three times. For other patterns, remove some of the elements and ask them to fill in the missing elements.
Give students a set of five patterns, some of which are ABAB and some are ABCABC. Use a variety of objects for the patterns, including colours, shapes, animals, letters. Ask students which ones are ABAB patterns and which ones are ABCABC. You may also ask students why the patterns are alike or different.

As you do these kinds of activities, it is important to have students verbalize their thinking whenever possible.

If a student appears to have difficulty with these tasks, consider further individual assessment, such as a structured interview, to determine the student's level of skill and understanding.

Sample Structured Interview: Assessing Prior Knowledge and Skills Word Document

B. Choosing Instructional Strategies

Consider the following strategies when planning lessons.

Provide students with many opportunities to represent patterns concretely.
Allow students to identify patterns in their daily lives. This can include repetitive songs and rhythmic chants that are based on repeating and growing patterns.
Patterning activities form the basis for algebraic reasoning. Using concrete materials, students can examine how patterns can be created with things such as cubes or pattern blocks.
Students need opportunities to create patterns and to identify the core of a pattern visually.
Expect students to explain, verbally, their answers about patterns.

C. Choosing Learning Activities

Learning Activities are examples of activities that could be used to develop student understanding of the concepts identified in Step 1.

Sample Learning Activities
Teaching Patterns and Relations	Download Activities