Intermediate
40 mins
Teacher/Student led
+65 XP
Teacher-led from the board. Pupils do not need a device, but can follow on one.

The Repeating Chunk

Learn how to find the repeating chunk in a pattern made of shapes. Once you spot it, you can use the chunk to keep the pattern going as long as you like.

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    Pattern blocks
    Pattern blocks

    1 - Getting Started ~3 mins

    Look at this line of shapes on the board. The same little run starts again and again. That little run is called the chunk. Can you spot exactly where the chunk starts and stops?

    2 - Watch and Notice ~8 mins

    Three patterns on the board. For each one, find the little chunk that repeats. The chunk is the shortest piece that still makes the whole pattern when you put it down again and again. Another name for that chunk is the unit of repeat.

    Where does each pattern start again, and how many shapes is that little piece?

    3 - Try It Together ~8 mins

    Look at the pattern on the board. First decide what the little chunk is. Then one pupil continues the line by putting that chunk down again in the empty spaces. Everyone else watches the board and says whether it looks right.

    Continue the pattern

    4 - Draw the Chunk in Your Copy ~3 mins

    COPYBOOK MOMENT

    In your maths copy, draw the repeating chunk of the pattern on the board: square, triangle, circle, just once.

    5 - Class Challenge ~8 mins

    Your turn at the board. Each time, find the little chunk and continue the pattern in the empty spaces. The class watches and checks together.

    Continue the pattern

    Pupil practice
    Module 5 · Patterns and Skip Counting: 2s, 5s and 10s Algebra
    Lesson 50 · The Repeating Chunk
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