Pattern Showcase

Overview

This is the final lesson in the eight-lesson unit Growing Patterns, Powerful Rules. Students collaboratively solve a pattern challenge, then complete an individual assessment showing that they can recognise, continue, create and describe growing patterns using the CPL sequence: Concrete, Pictorial, Language.

Learning intentions

• WALT recognise and continue additive, subtractive and multiplicative patterns.
• WALT identify an unknown constant change in a word problem.
• WALT create and describe a growing pattern using a rule.
• WALT explain our thinking using concrete, pictorial and mathematical language representations.
• WALT reflect on which representation helps us most.

Success criteria

• I can describe how a pattern changes each time.
• I can use a rule to continue or create a pattern.
• I can explain an unknown constant change and show how I found it.
• I can compare two rules and justify which is more efficient.

Curriculum links

• Number knowledge and algebraic thinking: identify, continue, create and describe patterns and relationships.
• Multiplicative thinking: recognise patterns that grow by equal groups or a constant factor.
• Mathematical communication: represent thinking with materials, diagrams, words, tables and number sentences.
• Problem solving and reasoning: justify a rule, compare strategies and evaluate the reasonableness of an answer.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–4 minutes – Hook and learning focus Open with the pattern showcase introduction. Display: 4, 7, 10, 13, … and ask, “How could you prove what comes next?” Briefly revisit the CPL sequence: build or model it with materials, draw or organise it, then explain it using words and number sentences.

2. 4–8 minutes – Quick whole-class warm-up Show three short patterns on the warm-up patterns: 6, 10, 14, 18; 30, 25, 20, 15; and 2, 4, 8, 16. Students identify whether each pattern is additive, subtractive or multiplicative and explain the change to a partner. Clarify that an additive or subtractive pattern has a constant difference, while a multiplicative pattern has a constant factor.

3. 8–20 minutes – Collaborative pattern challenge Place students in groups of five and assign roles using the group role cards. Give each group one challenge from the collaborative challenge instructions and allow them to record on the pattern challenge and assessment sheet. Suggested challenge: “A garden has 5 plants in Row 1. Each new row has 3 more plants. Show Rows 1–5, write the rule, and predict Row 10.” Groups must show a concrete model or table, a picture, and a spoken or written explanation.

4. 20–25 minutes – Share, compare and discuss Invite two groups to present different representations. Ask: “Where can we see the constant change?”, “How does the table help?”, and “Could we find Row 10 without drawing every row?” Use the sharing and comparison prompts to compare repeated addition with the rule 3 × row number + 2. If appropriate, invite an extension group to explain why its method is efficient.

5. 25–40 minutes – Individual assessment Students complete the assessment section of the individual pattern assessment independently. It includes:

• recognising and continuing an additive pattern;
• continuing a subtractive pattern;
• identifying and using a multiplicative rule;
• creating a growing pattern and describing its rule;
• a word problem: “A pattern starts at 9 and increases by the same amount each time. The fourth term is 21. What is the constant change? Explain how you know.”

Remind students to use the CPL sequence where useful. Enabling students may use counters, worked examples and sentence frames: “The pattern changes by ___ each time because ___.” Consolidating students should show accurate rules for additive, subtractive and multiplicative patterns. Extending students compare two rules and defend the most efficient solution.

6. 40–45 minutes – Self-assessment and close Use the reflection and milestone prompts. Students complete the final reflection on the worksheet, rating themselves against the Year 4–5 milestones: recognising a pattern, continuing it, creating one, describing the rule, and explaining their thinking. They circle the representation that helped most—materials, picture, table or language—and write one next step.

Resources

• the complete pattern showcase slide deck
• the pattern challenge and individual assessment worksheet
• the group role cards
• Linking cubes, counters or small objects
• Mini-whiteboards and pens
• Pencils, rulers and erasers
• Chart paper or group recording space
• Calculators only if required for accessibility, not for routine pattern reasoning

Assessment

• Observe group explanations for correct identification of the change, use of representations and mathematical vocabulary.
• Mark the individual assessment for accurate continuation, rule identification, creation, explanation and unknown constant change.
• Use the final self-assessment to identify students needing further support with additive, subtractive or multiplicative relationships.

Differentiation

• Support: provide manipulatives, partially completed tables, worked examples and sentence frames; allow students to explain orally before writing.
• EAL/SEN: pre-teach term, rule, constant change, difference and factor with examples; pair spoken explanations with symbols and diagrams.
• Consolidation: require students to check each answer by substituting terms into the rule and to distinguish difference from factor.
• Extension: ask students to generalise a pattern, compare two rules for the same sequence and defend which rule is most efficient for finding a distant term.