Hi friends,
How are you today? Today’s Education Blog by DUO Inspirations is about patterns, specifically in teaching patterns. We see patterns every day. Some we like and appreciate and some we don’t. Some patterns are simple and some are complex. Some patterns are man-made and some patterns are God-made. Noticing, identifying, and appreciating patterns are all important skills in life. They will lead to a greater understanding and appreciation of things around us. The ability to find and understand patterns often helps us to learn faster or appreciate more. So, how do we teach patterns? Often we start by helping students understand a simple A-B pattern. The pattern could literally be A, B, A, B, A, B…. and on and on. It could also be any alternating pattern. The A-B pattern could be a number pattern, such as 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2…and on and on. It could be a color pattern, such as blue, red, blue, red, blue, red, blue, red…and on and on. It could be a sound pattern, such as snap, clang, snap, clang, snap, clang…and on and on. It can be a movement pattern, such as clap, jump, clap, jump, clap, jump, and so on. Some may think that patterns are monotonous, boring, or even frustrating. However, it doesn’t have to be so. Teaching and learning patterns can be a very exciting experience. It is all in the presentation and in the attitude. It may be tempting to just give students a piece of paper with patterns on it and ask the students to finish the patterns. This may be helpful at times, but it isn’t the only exercise in teaching or learning patterns. Paper pattern activities are most helpful in practicing and assessing pattern recognition skills. Ask the students to come up with a pattern for others to complete. Choose some patterns that students can act out. Choose patterns that might sound like a tongue twister, especially if they are said quickly. Maybe have the pattern being a speaking pattern and let the words be slippery slippers. (This gets even more exciting when the pattern gets more complex than A-B.) Once students learn to recognize and identify and A-B pattern, maybe go on to other patterns such as an A-A-B pattern, and A-B-B pattern, or an A-B-C pattern. While we are on the subject of teaching and assessing pattern recognition, I want to tell you about the "Introductory Pattern Pack". The “Introductory Pattern Pack” includes three simple fill in the squares to complete the pattern activities as well as a blank template, so you can make your own patterns. Use the “Introductory Pattern Pack” to assess whether students understand pattern recognition. Pattern recognition activities such as in the “Introductory Pattern Pack” not only assess pattern recognition understanding, but also encourage early problem solving skills. To browse DUO Inspirations' selection of Educational Resources, click here. Now, it is your turn. I appreciate you being here. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Do you teach pattern recognition? Are you looking for educational resources? How can DUO Inspirations help you in your educational journey? Please, comment your thoughts, ideas, questions, and suggestions below or feel free to contact me. Thank you. Also, if you haven't already, please consider signing up below to get the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations and other education content sent directly to your inbox.
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Hi friends,
How are you? Today, I would like to share with you a math resource I find to be very useful in teaching things like multiplication, division, multiples, factors, prime numbers, and composite numbers. It is a great reference for allowing students to explore and notice numerical values and associations. It is wonderful when students can look at a reference sheet and notice the similarities and differences in numbers. Students learn more when they can make their own discoveries and associations. A factor list is a great way to encourage students to make those important discoveries and associations. I have created a “Factors List for Numbers 1-100”. It allows you to see the factors of numbers from one to one hundred all on one page. You can easily ask students questions to guide their discoveries in such skills as multiplication, division, multiples, factors, prime numbers, and composite numbers. For example, you can ask students, “Which numbers have five as a factor?” You can ask students to notice the ending digit in each of those numbers. They will notice the numbers that are multiples of five have an ending digit of either a five or a zero. These observations will come in handy, especially in the more difficult numbers. Some people may not know that you can learn multiplication and division from a factors list. However, it is true. It may not be in the traditional way, but you can practice multiplication and division skills with a factors list. Take this list of factors for the number 50 as an example. 50- 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 From this list of factors, you can practice the multiplication facts of 1x50=50, 2x25=50, and 5x10=50. And, you can use the skill of fact families to create the other appropriate multiplication and division equations. The study of prime and composite numbers is easy with a factors list. You can ask students to point out the numbers that have only two factors, which are the number one and the numbers themselves. You can tell students that these are prime numbers. It may even be helpful to have students put a square around the prime numbers and a circle around the composite numbers for quick reference. Another teaching tip is that you can ask students to color code the numbers of a factors list to highlight various factors, ideas, or skills. This can be done on one factors list or may be easier to use more than one for different observations and skills. I hope by now you see the usefulness of the “Factors List for Numbers 1-100”. If you would like to purchase the list, you can get it here. I am sure that you will be happy you did. Now, it is your turn. If you have any feedback, ideas, suggestions or requests, please leave me a comment or contact me. I would enjoy reading your thoughts. Also, if you haven't already, you may want to consider signing up to receive educational content in your inbox. Thank you. |
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