Engaging Patterns and Data

Introduction (10 minutes)

• Begin with a brief discussion on how patterns and data are found everywhere in life, including in Australia's Indigenous cultures.
• Highlight the importance of recognising patterns and making sense of data in real-world contexts.

Activity 1: Visual Pattern Investigation (15 minutes)

• Use colourful tripe-shaped tiles or drawings to explore geometric patterns, reflecting Australian Indigenous art styles.
• Students work in pairs to create and extend patterns, describing the rule that generates their pattern.
• Discuss how patterns grow and how rules can be used to recreate or extend them, linking this to the Australian Curriculum’s content on investigating patterns involving rational numbers.

Activity 2: Growing Number Patterns (15 minutes)

• Students explore number patterns involving rational numbers, using calculators or spreadsheets.
• They identify rules that govern the sequence, such as adding or multiplying.
• The class discusses how these rules can describe everyday financial or natural phenomena, connecting to Australia’s economic and environmental contexts.

Indigenous Perspectives and Cultural Diversity (10 minutes)

• Include a discussion on First Nations Australian games and patterns, such as Diyari koolchee, to examine how Indigenous cultures have used mathematical ideas.
• Students analyse these patterns and discuss their significance within cultural practices, fostering understanding and respect for cultural diversity.

Reflection and Sharing (10 minutes)

• Students share their pattern rules and discuss how recognising these patterns helps us understand the world.
• Reflect on how digital tools like spreadsheets and calculators can aid in pattern analysis.
• Summarise the lesson by highlighting the connection between patterns, data, and the Australian environment and cultures.

Assessment for Learning

• Observation of student participation and understanding through their pattern rules.
• Exit tickets where students write one new pattern they discovered and its rule.

Resources

• Colourful tiles or art-based pattern templates
• Calculators and tablets with spreadsheet software
• Images or stories about First Nations Australian patterns and games

This lesson plan is designed to meet the Australian Curriculum's focus on patterns involving rational numbers, investigation of data, and Indigenous perspectives, encouraging students to explore mathematics both creatively and culturally, within a 60-minute class.