Sunday, January 22, 2017

Patterns? Patterns.

Math is an interesting subject. Certain individuals interpretations of it, differ intensively. For example, some may say it's strictly numbers and formulas, others may include that there are letters involved, and few amounts would include patterns in their descriptions. So are patterns a part of math? Of course they are! Patterns may not be in most peoples descriptions of math, but if they were to be asked if patterns were a part of math, they would agree that they are. It just takes a second for some people to realize what concepts outside of numbers, formulas and letters, are incorporated in math.
 For us teachers, incorporating patterns into our math curriculum is very important. Patterns are present in many different branches of math. Such as formulas in geometry, to long division, etc. Students are performing pattern-like tasks everyday in their math lessons, homework and tests. They just might not be aware of it at the time.
Being able to teach our students how to recognize patterns all around them is very important.
For a simple example with practicing the differentiating of patterns, students can be given four images and decide 1. which one does not belong or 2. what each image has different from the alternate 3.
Why is this important? Patterns are a way of life, we see them each and every day even when we don't even realize it. We want our students to be able to go home and tell their parents how they recognize and analyze different patterns, because when they do, we know that they fully understand that single concept of math, and as a teacher, that is an important milestone. As students are recognizing these patterns, i want them to be thinking about how math is involved, and this will help them realize how important math really is and how we use it every single day. This will help answer their questions, of "why is this important, I'm never going to use it?" And being able to answer WHY to that question, is a huge step in education.
Let's practice and give it a try!


Answers:
Top left- Not a digital clock.
Top right- Specifies whether its AM or PM. The others are not stated. 
Bottom left- Hour is at 8, the others are at 9 o'clock. 
Bottom right- Minute is at 32, the others are all at 31 minutes. 


4 comments:

  1. I liked how you included what we learned in class and then included your own example in the blog. I would like to know if you would include this in your own classroom.

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  2. I really like this type of pattern finding. I think it's encouraging because an argument can be made for every picture and children have to be able to defend their answers. This is something I would like to incorporate into my own classroom in the future.

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  3. Clear- if this shows up as an issue, it’s usually about spelling, grammar or structure.
    Coherent- has a point and an objective
    Complete- looks like 2 hours of work, attends to necessary bits for the point. Sharing your thinking, always a good idea. Cite images or websites you used or referenced.
    Content- math and teaching ideas are accurate. (Does not mean no math mistakes. Mistakes are how we get better!)
    Consolidated- writing has an end. Synthesize the ideas, pose remaining questions, etc. Sometimes I recommend one or more of: 1) What did I say/do?, 2) Why is it important?, 3) What comes next?

    Clear, coherent, content +
    complete - want a little more of your thinking. How did you come to make this? What was the thinking behind it?
    consolidated - what did you get out of it? What would you want students to be thinking about as they do it?

    Very interesting WODB!

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  4. I really like how you gave a problem, and allowed space before showing the answers to the readers. Looks like your blog is going to be very good!

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