Active Pattern Activity

We did active math by creating different patterns with a ladder.

I've been following Malke's blog Math in Your Feet for quite a while. She teaches math through dance, drawing off her extensive background in percussive dance. Reading her blog has given me new ideas in regards to math education, so when this ladder was laid on the floor during the older kids tennis practice, we couldn't resist playing and making math patterns.

We started by taking turns creating simple foot patterns, and then progressed into more difficult patterns.

Here are some of the patterns we created:
1. Step with one foot in each square alternating feet
2. Step into each square with two feet
3. Jump with two feet in each square
4. Step forward, step forward, step backward - step forward, step forward, step backward
5. Jump and rotate 180 degrees turning to the right into the first square, jump and rotate 180 degrees turning to the left into the next square
6. Jump inside a square, jump with legs split outside the next square

At first glance this math looks like a lot of fun with patterns, but there is a lot of math vocabulary embedded in creating and describing the patterns.

This activity could be easily replicated with sidewalk chalk if a ladder isn't available. In addition, sidewalk chalk is more flexible and hop scotch, ladder and other designs could be used as the base.

This post is linked to:
Teaching Blog Addict
Sola Gratia