Mathematics · Foundation

Active learning ideas

Identifying the Pattern Unit

Young learners need to see and touch patterns before they can name them. Growing patterns require students to focus on how one step changes from the last, which is easier with concrete materials than with pictures alone.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9M7A01

• 15–25 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Inquiry Circle
• 25 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: Building Staircases

In small groups, students use blocks to build a 'staircase'. The first step is 1 block, the second is 2, and so on. Students must predict how many blocks the next step will need and explain the 'rule' (add one more) to their group.

What part of this pattern repeats over and over?

Facilitation Tip

During Building Staircases, walk the room with a tower of four blocks and ask each pair to show you the next step before they build it, so you can catch errors early.

What to look for

Present students with several visual patterns (e.g., shapes, colors, objects). Ask them to draw a circle around the repeating unit in each pattern and then draw the next three elements of the pattern.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Stations Rotation
• 20 min · Small Groups

Stations Rotation: Growing and Shrinking

Set up stations where patterns either grow or shrink (e.g., 5, 4, 3...). Students use counters to model the sequence at each station and must work together to decide if the pattern is 'getting bigger' or 'getting smaller'.

Can you circle the piece that repeats in this pattern?

Facilitation Tip

At the Growing and Shrinking station, place a timer visible to all students so they know when to rotate and when to freeze their thinking.

What to look for

Show a pattern like red, blue, red, blue, red, blue. Ask: 'What is the part that repeats here?' Then, show a more complex pattern like a square, circle, triangle, square, circle, triangle. Ask: 'Can you tell me the rule for this pattern?'

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 15 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: The Growing Story

Tell a story where an animal finds one more berry every day. Students think about how many berries there will be on day four, share their drawing with a partner, and then the class builds the pattern together on the floor.

How many items are in the part that keeps repeating?

Facilitation Tip

After Think-Pair-Share, invite pairs to stand with their pattern strips and invite the class to clap once for a correct rule and twice for a rule that still needs work.

What to look for

Give each student a card with a pattern rule, such as 'two circles, one square'. Ask them to draw the first six elements of a pattern that follows this rule on the back of the card.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with physical change before symbols. Let students feel the difference between a tower that grows by one block and one that repeats the same height. Avoid showing number sentences too soon, because the abstract symbols can mask the concrete action of adding or removing one item. Research shows that children who build and describe patterns out loud before writing them down show stronger understanding later.

Students will point to the extra block or object that shows the growth and use words like 'one more' or 'the same.' They will predict the next step with confidence and explain the rule in simple terms.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Building Staircases, watch for students who make each step the same height, creating a repeating pattern instead of a growing pattern.

  Ask students to compare their tower to yours: 'Look at my tower. Did I add the same number of blocks each time or did it get taller by one each time?' Then have them rebuild with one extra block on top each step.

• During Station Rotation: Growing and Shrinking, watch for students who count all blocks in the new step instead of noticing only the change.

  Give each student a wipe-off marker to circle only the new block added in each step; seeing a single marked block makes the 'one more' rule visible.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inquiry Circle
• Stations Rotation
• Think-Pair-Share