Patterns are Dragon On!

Kindergarten and First Grade Pattern Review

This is a quick project that I do every few years. After working with Kindergarten and First grade students on patterns, it's a fun review and practice.
Draw out a very large dragon on bulletin paper.
Cut up paper plates into 4 sections. Give each student a section and have them use markers or crayons to create a pattern on the paper plate section. These will become the scales of the dragon. As students finish hot glue (fastest and easiest way) the sections overlapping.

I do this with both my Kindergarten and First grade classes so that there are enough "scales" to fill the dragon.

Now most years when I do this I plan for it to fall in February. This year was no different. I do this for two reasons. The first is then I could tie in with Chinese New Year celebrations. The second I have a cutesy saying that I like to put with the dragon - "Winter's DRAGON ON - Hurry Up Spring!"

However, our unusually mild Mid-West winter this year forced me to not put up that saying - it simply didn't apply this year!

Pattern with Kindergarten

There are so many ways to teach pattern to our youngest students. This one is a simple (usually one class period) lesson. I usually don't do this lesson until December or January. By this time of the year the Kindergarten teacher has already introduced the concept of pattern to the students. We discuss what patterns are and give some examples of AB patterns using color and shapes and then go on to discuss ABC patterns. Depending on the level of the students, we may go further discussing different patterns - I let the students guide this.

After our pattern discussion, students practiced making a three color pattern. If I do this lesson before Christmas I use a tree design and the students "decorate" the tree with primary colored pieces of paper. Students are given a green paper with a tree shape copied on it. They also get a strip of each primary color. I show them how to cut the strips into squares all at once to make the cutting go faster. I encourage students to place the strips into a pattern before they glue them down.

This is a great project to practice cutting and gluing skills along with reinforcing pattern.

 If time allows I let the students glue on some sequins to their tree. Of course they love that!

I've also done this project after the holidays. Instead of the tree design, a heart on red paper is used. The pattern is put along the inside of the heart.