Ladybug Patterns

Early Years (Age 3 – 6)

Curriculum Goal

Kindergarten: Demonstrating Literacy and Mathematics Behaviour

Recognize, explore, describe, and compare patterns, and extend, translate, and create them, using the core of a pattern and predicting what comes next (#18).

Context

Students and teacher sitting on the carpet in a circle.
Students should have previous experience with patterns and making patterns.

Materials

Working Mats
Small ladybug toys (or another set of small manipulatives)

Lesson

Explain that students will be making patterns with ladybugs.
Bring to students’ attention that in the past they have made patterns out of different colours and letters but today the material they will be working with is all the same.
Ask students to make a pattern using the ladybugs.
Children will have to think outside the box to create a pattern.
Once students are finished, ask them to share their pattern.

Look Fors

How does the child create their pattern? What strategies do they use?
Can the children articulate their pattern clearly?
Are they able to continue a pattern and predict the next term?

Extension

This activity can be done with various types of materials. Challenge students to try creating another pattern. How is it different or the same as the first pattern they created?
Students can be challenged to continue another student’s pattern.

Related Lessons

Another activity asking students to build and then describe repeating patterns.

Prior Lesson: A math activity for early learners exploring the concept of the pattern core.

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