#1996. Do You See What I See? - patterns

Mathematics, level: Elementary
Posted Sun Nov 12 14:55:28 PST 2000 by Paul Brennan (paulmichaelbrennan@hotmail.com).
Lock Haven University, Taylor, Pa.
Materials Required: see lesson
Activity Time: 25-30 minutes
Concepts Taught: patterns

Standard: 2.7.5 Pennsylvania

Objective: (F.) Determine patterns generated as a result of an experiment.

Grade Level: 5

Materials Needed: poker chips(red, white, &blue), a worksheet w/ circles 10 x 10 (100 circles), 2 crayons, (red& blue)/ each student, a large paper bag.

Activity: Do You SeeWhat I See? - Patterns
Pass out the worksheets and make sure everyone has a red and a blue crayon. Explain that in the bag there are 50 red chips, 50 white chips, and 50 blue chips. Instruct them to color in the circles everytime that color chip is pulled. If a white chip is pulled leave the circle white and go on to the next one. Make sure everyone is on task after every 5 or 10 times you draw a chip. You can # the circles on the work sheet if needed to keep following along easy (e.g. chip #37 is blue).
Have the students examine their paper to see if any patterns exist. Have them write on the back of their worksheets where a pattern may exist so that they have a reference for discussion. This is also a good reason to number the circles (e.g. #'s 31-38 is the same pattern as #'s 22-29). There should be some prior knowledge of what a pattern is. Reflect on what happened.

Source: Paul Brennan - paulmichaelbrennan@hotmail.com