Q. Gerddi
| Introduction |
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| An activity to recognise and represent a simple two-step numeric pattern in visual contexts. Children move from verbal to algebraic and tabular representations of the pattern, moving then to the consideration of the graphs if appropriate. They recognise that similar patterns exist in different settings. |
| This activity has three episodes. Each episode consists of an introduction, paired or group work and whole class sharing. The session must finish with a whole class reflection phase, regardless of how far the class has got. |
| Episode 1: Recognising and describing a numeric pattern in a context |
| Children first look at a two-step pattern of leaves and twigs on different branches. They describe it in words, then in symbols based on generalised number, and tabulate results. |
| Episode 2: Describing a similar pattern and comparing two patterns |
| Children describe a pattern of black and white tiles in words and then symbols. They discuss the similarities and dissimilarities between the two patterns – twigs and leaves, and black and white tiles. |
| Episode 3: Comparing graphs of two patterns |
| Children plot points on a graph to represent the two patterns and compare the graphs. They try to describe the two-line graphs in terms of their slope, incline, or stepwise rise and their starting points, and link these features with the pictures, the verbal expressions, and the algebraic representations. |
| Reflection |
| Children look back at what they have done and how they proceeded in the lesson and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the different representations. |
| BEFORE YOU TEACH |
| Unlike many of the Thinking Maths activities which get harder as the lesson continues, this one oscillates in difficulty, with the peaks at the points where the concept of a variable is introduced. Thisinvolves treating ‘3t’ as meaning ‘three time the number of twigs’ and ‘2b’ as ‘twice the number of black tiles’, where the values of t and b can vary. You need to decide how much to labour these steps with your class, or how much to confine your children’s discussion to the other questions on the worksheets, and the tables and graphs (where the ‘3’ and the ‘2’ are connected with the steepness of the lines). |