Patterning and Algebra

So...here's the thing. I absolutely loved this week's lesson. I have always been fairly good with patterning, and it's just something that makes sense to me. Visuals are my friends. Here's a breakdown of what happened this week:

We started the lesson with the learning presentation, which was really informative. Sheets were handed out, and not only were we asked to write patterns into a table, but we were asked to draw them as well. I love the idea of this, because it helps students to understand the problem in two different ways (and caters to different learning styles).

After a nice introduction into patterning and algebra, we continued to learn through problem-solving questions. One of my favourite things we worked with this week was the "input-output machine." Again, being a visual person, this way of finding patterns helped and encouraged me, as I was able to "see" how many numbers had been added, multiplied, etc. I think that this is a great resource to use within the school, because students are able to visualize and write the next numbers in the sequence. Additionally, this tactic can help teach students to write a chart out when only visuals are given. (I love that it works both ways!)

Next, we played with tiles. As table groups, we were given rules on a sheet of paper, and were asked to complete at least three terms with our specific rule. The other members in the group were asked to guess the rule based on the pattern of the tiles. We did this activity twice, first with just multiplying the numbers, and second with multiplying and adding the numbers. This is what the activity looked like:

Multiplying by 2. (Personal Collection).

Multiplying by 5, adding 7. (Personal Collection).

The last thing that we focused on during the lesson was playing with the app "Dragon Box". This game helped introduce the concept of algebra to students in a fun and engaging way. The object of this game was to make the Dragon Box disappear by adding a picture to both sides of the screen. If there was the same picture on each side, it would be cancelled out, and the box would be left. (What you do to one side, you must do to the other.) This basically introduces the concept of solving for X, and the students don't even realize it! Like I mentioned before, it is an engaging app, and in my opinion, can be used to introduce students who are either new to or struggling, to the concept of algebra. Additionally, it is a great resource to help students who are great at algebra! It will help them to hone their skills, and stay up to date on algebraic problems.

Overall, this lesson was informative, interesting, and fun! It catered to many different learning styles, and incorporated many concepts to help students stay engaged and motivated while working on patterning and algebra. I hope that I can use some of these tactics in my own future classroom!

Until next week, Happy Math-ing.