C1.2 Create and translate patterns using movements, sounds, objects, shapes, letters, and numbers.
Activity 1: Harvest Festival
Using the melody of the song The 12 Days of Christmas as a guide, invent a story where students can solve a problem. As an example, here is a summary of the story The Harvest Festival, which could be presented to students.
In this story, a farmer is preparing a soup for the harvest festival. However, he wants to be given vegetables every day for 12 days before the harvest festival. Moreover, he demands more and more vegetables from day to day; for example, on the first day, he must be given 1 potato; on the second day, 1 potato and 2 carrots; on the third day, 1 potato, 2 carrots and 3 turnips; etc.
Source: Guide d’enseignement efficace des mathématiques de la maternelle à la 3e année, p. 49.
Activity 2: Rhythmic Patterns
Summary
Children's first experiences with patterns are repetitive rhymes in songs and rhymes; for example, "B-I-N-G-O". In this activity, they identify the pattern rule of the rhyme or rhythm in a song and reproduce it using musical instruments or dance movements.
Materials
- song or rhyme of your choice
- percussion instruments (one per child)
Directions
To introduce and emphasize the pattern rule, have students use percussion instruments (made or purchased) to accompany a song or rhyme; for example, in the song Bingo, the rhythm "tap, tap, tap-tap-tap" represents the rhythm pattern rule.
Modify the activity by asking students to create a dance with repetitive movements to accompany the melody of a song with a repetitive rhythm; for example, On Mathurin's Farm. Explain that they can use three different movements to create their pattern, such as jumping, reaching and twisting, and that the pattern is repeated when the chorus is sung. Next, have them present their pattern to another student, who must explain the repeating pattern they observe.
Also have students create phonics/sound patterns, which are patterns made of words that contain a sound being studied. Have them find pictures of these words and use them to create a pattern.
Example
To convey the concept of pattern rule, be sure to always emphasize the repetition of gestures, sounds of musical instruments, or the rhythm of the music.
Source: Guide d’enseignement efficace des mathématiques de la maternelle à la 3e année, p. 82-83.
Activity 3: Single File
Summary
In this activity, students are asked to create non-numeric patterns with repeating patterns using pictures and then change the representation of their pattern.
Materials
- The story of The Little Red Hen
- Appendix 1.1 (1 copy per team).
Directions
Invite students to sit in a circle on the floor. Read a story in which there are repeated words, gestures, or characters; for example, in the story The Little Red Hen, the characters (the chicken, the goose, the cat, and the dog) always appear and speak in the same order. This order is a pattern rule (chicken, goose, cat, dog; chicken, goose, cat, dog; chicken, goose, cat, dog).
Point out this rule by asking students the following questions:
- What do you notice about the order in which the animals speak?
- Are there things that are always repeated in the story?
Pick students to represent the chicken, goose, cat, and dog. Ask the other students to name the animals in the order they appear (chicken, goose, cat, dog). Each time an animal is named, the student representing it must stand up.
Ask students the following questions:
- How do you know who will be the next person to get up?
- Which animal always comes after the chicken? the goose? the cat? the dog?
- How did you find out who was next to get up?
Using pictures of animals (Appendix 1.1) posted on the board, represent the animal pattern and show students how to express their understanding of the pattern by stating:
- the position (write the number representing the position above each animal);
- the pattern cores (draw a wave under each core);
- pattern rule (all waves show the pattern rule, since it is always the same pattern that is repeated in the same order).
Example
Continue by having students create a pattern of animals using, for example, their cries, plastic animals, drawings, or animal prints made with ink pads or sponges.
Ask students to describe the similarities and differences between the different patterns created; for example, the pattern rule and ABCD structure are the same; the number of elements in the patterns is the same, but not the mode of representation.
Source: Guide d’enseignement efficace des mathématiques de la maternelle à la 3e année, p. 108-109.