Communicating
Algebra - A Little Rainbow of Mathematics
Element
Communicating
a
The learner
Responds to a range of stimuli to indicate awareness of repeated patterns.
b
The learner
Distinguishes between structured sequences (repeating or growing) and sequences or collections that include random elements, and are therefore not ‘patterns’.
04.
c
The learner
Uses appropriate language to talk about patterns in school, home and the wider environment involving objects, colours, shapes and numbers.
Content and Language Integrated Learning
Language
Pattern, colour, red, yellow, blue, green, orange. purple
Tasks for Pre-Teaching Colour Words
Target Language - German
Rot, blau, gelb, lila, grün (additional colours can be added in over time)
Activity One: Repeating Patterns
The teacher introduces the basic pattern ABAB with the name of each colour in their second language to the student so for example rot, gelb, rot, gelb.
Prompt: Look at the picture of counters. Talk about everything you see.
Questions:
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What colour counters are in the picture?
Can you see a pattern?
What colour might come next?
Copy the pattern using colours.
This can then be added to the other colours so for example blau, lila, blau, lila pattern or rot, grün, rot, grün etc.
Get the students to create their own colour lines and patterns. They can be given four colour counters each and ask them to come up with a similar pattern.
Activity Two: ABAB Pattern
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Give each student a set of 15 coloured buttons/discs/counters/tiles/pegs etc. Ask the student to arrange the colours randomly in three rows of five on their desks.
The student must then design their own pattern ABAB within the colours and ask their classmates to find the correct sequence.
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Possible Solution
The ABAB sequence is rot, blau, rot, blau in the second row below.
Alternatively the students can colour in their pattern on the Rainbow Pattern task board.
Activity Three: AAB AAB Pattern
You can extend the above pattern to AAB AAB AAB. Draw student attention to the unit of repeat. For example use the same colours from Activity One to make this pattern rot, rot, gelb; rot, rot, gelb; as in the picture below.
Questions:
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What is the same as the pattern in activity 1?
What is different from the pattern in activity 1?
What colour might come next? How do you know?
Copy and continue the pattern you see for the next four counters.
Activity Four: Growing Pattern
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Describe any pattern you see in this picture.
Questions:
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What is staying the same and what is changing each time in this pattern?
What do you think might come next?
What colour buttons might be in line 10? Explain your thinking.
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Now have the students create their own patterns by colouring in the circles on the Rainbow Pattern Board.
Activity Five: Create a Rainbow Pattern Poem
Give each student a poem template and get them to create their own pattern poem using any of the colour words they have learnt.
They can write this on the template or send the teacher an audio file of them saying each colour in the poem.
Activity Six: Pattern Bingo
The sample student pattern Bingo card can be used as a quick revision of the colours in their target language before you play this game.
Call out each colour in their second language and ask each student to put the relevant colour on the square underneath the colour.
Then clear all the colours again and the teacher calls out a number of different colours.
If that colour is on the student’s sheet, the student places a disc on that square.
The student with the first correct pattern ABA for example on their sheet wins.
Variation
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Give each student a blank sheet and get them to write a pattern of colours on it as in the example. Each student can then swap this sheet with the student next to them.
The teacher can continue on with the Bingo game.
This could easily be adapted for outdoor play and a Bingo grid could be drawn using chalk.