Math Pattern Activities for First Grade

Use shapes to teach patterns.

Understanding patterns is important for understanding mathematics. Patterns enable you to see the relationships between numbers and help you make predictions. Since patterns are essential for understanding math, they are an important part of the early-elementary math curriculum. If you are a first-grade teacher, present your students with fun and engaging activities to help them understand patterns.

Shape Sort

Teach children how to make patterns with shapes. On a piece of paper, create different patterns with letters -- ABAB, AABBAABB, ABBABB and so forth. Provide children with foam shapes or different-shaped blocks. Instruct students to use the shapes to make patterns, using the letter patterns as a guide. For instance, to replicate an ABAB pattern, a child can make a square, triangle, square, triangle pattern.

Pattern Quilt

Have children make colored paper quilts to display their knowledge of patterns. Provide children with grid paper and crayons. Inform them that they are going to create a paper quilt that features colorful patterns. Instruct them to use the crayons to create any pattern they wish on the grid. Once they've decided on the colors they want to use and the pattern they want to create, they should color in the squares on the grid. For example, a child may make a quilt that features the colors green, purple and blue and create an AAABBBCCC pattern on the grid.

Patterns in Action

Let kids get up and move to create patterns. Stand in front of the class and perform different actions in a pattern -- clap, clap, hop, hop, clap, clap, hop, hop, for instance. Let kids take turns creating action patterns for the class to follow.

Number Patterns

Children find the missing numbers in this pattern activity. On a piece of paper, write a series of numbers -- 1, 1, 2, 3, 1, 1, 2, 3. Instruct children to continue the pattern, filling in the appropriate numbers. To add a twist to the activity, have children fill in missing numbers in a pattern. Write a series of numbers in a pattern, but omit a few numbers -- 1, 1, 2, 3, 1, _, 2, _, for example. Children observe the pattern and fill in the missing numbers.

References

• Teachers' Lab: Number Patterns