Lesson One - Patterns

STEM Lesson 1

Title - Creating Patterns

Date Taught - January 24

Number of Students - 2 (although my older children wanted in on it)

Skill/Concept addressed  by the lesson - Creating and labeling a pattern (abab, abbabb, abcabc, etc)  Also the ideas of burnable and not burnable.

AK Standards - Identify and continue patterns. 1.OA.9. Identify, continue and label patterns (e.g., aabb, abab). Create patterns using number, shape, size, rhythm or color.

Duration - 30 minutes

Goals/Objectives - Help students understand how to create their own pattern and understand what type of pattern it is.

Materials - Pencils, paper, iPads with Minecraft

Procedure - 

Review what a patter is.  Gave some examples of abab and abb patterns.  Then asked the students to give some examples of different types of patterns.  Started with abab patterns, then went to abbabb patterns.  Then I asked the students to create a pattern and identify what type of pattern it was.

The patterns given were:

red, blue, green, red, blue, green - correctly identified as abcabc.

square, triangle circle, circle, square, triangle, circle, circle - correctly identified as abccabcc.

boy, girl, boy, girl - correctly identified as abab

red, yellow, blue, green, orange, red, yellow, blue, green, orange - correctly identified as  abcde, abcde

and others

We then discussed things that can burn and things that do not burn.  I asked what are some things that burn.  The first answers were fire and gasoline.  Then I asked what types of materials burned - or could be set on fire.  I was then given a list of things like paper, wood, cotton, food.  I then asked what types of things did not burn, and was told - metal (although it could be melted), dirt, rock, glass.

Give the students the assignment.

Assignment:  Create something that represents a pattern.  The pattern has to have at least two items - ab - and contain at least one item that can burn and one item that does not burn.  They can do whatever kind of pattern they want and can use whatever material they want as long as they can correctly identify the pattern and why they used the items they did.

Documentation - 

Reflection - It was fun to watch these two boys be excited about being taught a math lesson after school because they knew they were going to get to do the assignment using Minecraft.  They gave great examples of patterns - and complex ones during the lesson part, but both decided to just go back to abab patterns for their “assignment”.  One boy has played a lot of Minecraft but decided to just use dirt and wood planks so that he did not have to make any tools.  The other boy has only played for a week and had not really ever built tools because he either plays on creative or with sisters or mom or dad - who make the tools for him.  He wanted cobblestone though, so he knew he needed to make tools and even a crafting table.  He just needed some direction on making them.  I showed him how to get into the crafting area and how to find things.  He made his table, then went looking for what he needed to build a pick ax.  He got the materials and then made a few of them, so he could collect cobblestone.  He was excited to know how to make tools all on his own now.  The boy that used the cobblestone also told me that in his steps, there was another pattern - each row had one less than the one below it.  (This may just be a future lesson - identifying number patterns)  They both correctly told me that their patterns were abab and explained why they used the materials they did.  Wood burns and dirt and rock don't burn.

They decided to work in two separate areas so they could each make sure their design was their own.  I thought that was funny.

I think the lesson went well.  I was a little disappointed that they both went with abab patterns, but they did a great job representing them, and had fun while doing so. I think they wanted to finish quickly so they could play with each other.