Rich tasks
- These are problem solving open-ended questions that require students to investigate number patterns. The tasks can be given at the start of a topic and done as the students gain enough knowledge to complete them, inserted into a topic at an appropriate place, or given as homework or extension.
- Just ones
- Strip patterns
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1. Just ones
- This task is suitable for a wide range of abilities and can aid the learning of times tables.
- Encourage students to find creative ways of showing the pattern.
- Max’s way leads to the formation of some geometrical shapes. You could ask students if they can see any relationship between the number of sides of the shapes formed and the tables.
2. Strip patterns
- This task is suitable for a wide range of abilities. Encourage students to make their patterns more and more complex.
- Students could display their patterns and present them to the rest of the class and then ask them to work out what colour counter will be above certain numbers.
Number patterns
- Continue a number pattern by identifying what number and operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication or division) is needed to continue the pattern.
- Find missing numbers in number patterns.
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Teacher notes
- Encourage students to find all the ways the second number in the pattern might have been formed from the first number, then check if this rule applies to all of the other numbers in the pattern.
Example: If the first two numbers are 1, 2 then 2 could have been formed by adding 1 to 1 or by multiplying 1 by 2.
- Students may need to work with materials such as the number line to help see the constant difference between the numbers in addition and subtraction patterns.
- Students need to know their basic multiplication facts, as many patterns are multiples or multiples plus or minus a number. Some revision of these might be necessary. Knowing their doubles and halves is also useful.
Equation patterns
- Continue an equation pattern and fill in the missing part of the equation, then write down an equation that might appear further on in the pattern.
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Teacher notes
- Encourage students to work out how the pattern is formed and how it continues by looking at how each number changes from line to line.
