Image of the Week: Ask the Question, What patterns do you see?

Ask the Question: What patterns do you see?

We have hundreds of Look-Think-Talk activities on our website and one way to find just what you’re looking for is by focusing on the central mathematical question you will ask students to think about. Each question can lead to different kinds of big ideas, and in this series of videos we’ll share with you what opportunities posing a particular question can open up. We encourage you to explore new questions you can ask to get into deep mathematical discussions.

This week, we focus on the question: What patterns do you see? By one definition, mathematics is the study of patterns. Pattern-seeking is an inherently human act that we engage in from birth. But we often don’t spend enough time on patterning in the elementary grades, and we miss an opportunity to nurture young children’s capacity to find and build patterns in their everyday world. Watch our What patterns do you see? video to see how to look closely at the patterns all around us and give one of these activities a try with your students tomorrow.

And we invite you to follow us on Twitter! Tweet us the fascinating ideas you students have about our activities or how you’re trying these activities in your space. We can’t wait to hear from you!

To multiplicity, cheers!

Jen Munson and the multiplicity lab group