Remember when the kids were preschoolers and they played with simple little blocks and trucks?
And sometimes you’d line up the blocks–red, blue, red, blue… and ask them which one comes next?
Well, you were prepping them for Algebra!
Yeah, I didn’t think about it like Algebra at the time, either.
But that’s ok, because their little brains did!
The problem is often that we (myself included) don’t keep looking at patterns much beyond those years.
Partly because the more complicated patterns might be confusing to us as well!
Give this one a try with your teen⤵⤵⤵ (if you turn your phone sideways, it might be easier to see)
⏳Take a moment to think about the first 3 stages.
✅Answer the questions on the slide.
📣Talk about it together! It’s so interesting to find out what someone else noticed that you didn’t.
❓Then, sketch (or discuss) the next 2 stages. What’s the same; what’s different…what goes where?
📍Be specific.
{The solutions are free for Successful Parent Subscribers (also free to join). Click here if you want to check yourself so far!}
Now, take a look at the table below and try to fill it in.
As you do, what patterns do you notice?
Patterns In Algebra is {quite possibly} my favorite class.
I know the name’s not very creative, but the ideas are really interesting. More importantly, they build algebraic thinking skills in your learner.
And the activity that I created for you, in this blog post, is just one of the five types of activities in this class.
As you work through it with your teen…think about whether the task is
- very difficult (try Beginner)
- a little challenging, but not too hard (try Intermediate)
- simple (try Advanced)
That way, you’ll know which class might be the best fit for your learner.
Click on the button to find out more about the class!
