Student Work #4

This activity was done during math centers to reiterate patterns, which the students have been practicing for the past few weeks.  For this specific task, the student had to use yellow and red chips in the first column and make a pattern.  In the second column, the student had to color in the pattern that is opposite of the first column.  The student created an AAB pattern (red-red-yellow), which shows that she has a higher understanding of pattern making.  Most of the students in the class continuously make AB patterns and do not try to challenge themselves. The big idea for this task would be for students to realize that there can be many variations to patterns and encourage them to challenge themselves to create different types of patterns. This was the last day of pattern making, so it was evident that this student had a high understanding of patterns.  She was able to create patterns and then make a pattern with the opposite colors in the second column.

This task could be approached in a few different ways.  The student could create a variety of different patterns in the left column (ie. AB, ABB, AAB, etc.). Because this task asks students to put the opposite colors in the second column, some students may not understand what to do.  They may create an entirely new pattern or even do the same pattern again.  This student was able to create an AAB pattern and successfully color in the opposite colors in the second column.  To further her knowledge, I would encourage her to try different patterns or even try using more than two colors.