To assess prior knowledge, review patterns by singing one of the songs from the previous lesson.
Divide the students into two groups. Have one group of students sing words to the song and have the other name the pattern by calling out the repeated words and by counting the number of times that word is repeated in each line.
Make notes about those students who do not recognize the repeated words, cannot identify the number of repeats, or demonstrate other misconceptions about repeating patterns in their response.
To begin the lesson, model for the students counting sequences using the constant function feature of the calculator.
Demonstrate on the computer how to enter a counting sequence that is appropriate for the grade level and learning needs of your students.
- For kindergarten, you might use 10 + 10 =, =, =, =.
- For first grade, you might use 5 + 5 =, =, =, = or 2 + 2 =, =, =, = .
- For second grade, you might use 3 + 3 =, =, =, = or some other counting sequence addressed in your curriculum.
Once you have entered the counting sequence five times, ask the students to predict what number will be colored next on the corresponding chart if the same counting sequence is continued. Have the students predict the next number that will be colored until they begin to visualize the patterns and make predictions.
Once you have modeled this for the students, have each student use a virtual calculator at the computer or a hand-held calculator, hundred chart, and crayons. Have the students record the sequence by coloring the appropriate numbers just as the online calculator does on the online hundred chart. Provide a different hundred chart and different color for each counting sequence students display, or have different groups of students color different patterns. This will provide a variety of patterns for students to compare.
When several counting sequences are colored, have the students compare them by identifying the resulting patterns. These experiences help the students make generalizations about relationships among various patterns.
This experience also builds understanding of multiplication as a counting sequence and helps the students visualize the patterns that such counting sequences create. It enables students to see that vertical patterns are created when counting by 5 and by 10. However, diagonal patterns appear on the hundred chart when the counting sequence is 3, as shown below.
Have students work in pairs at computers to experiment with other counting sequences and identify the patterns they make.
This is excellent preparation for work with multiplication. One student can operate the mouse while the second student colors the pattern on the paper hundred chart with colored crayons.
