PATTERN BLOCKS TEMPLATES HOW TO

Similar to Tangrams, you can challenge students to recreate shapes, pictures, or silhouettes with pattern blocks. While working with patterns, students practice recognizing patterns, making predictions, and improving their observation skills. Then, challenge students to create and label patterns using pattern structures such as ABABA or ABBA, ABC, etc. Or, students can invent their own patterns after you’ve introduced the concept. Then, students have to finish the pattern. For example, you might lay out a green triangle, an orange square, and a green triangle. One activity is for students to continue a pattern that’s already been started. Make teaching patterns fun and engaging with pattern blocks! There are many ways to approach this. Using pattern blocks during lessons can help build interest and motivate students as they learn new concepts.

PATTERN BLOCKS TEMPLATES HOW TO

How to Use Pattern Blocks in the ClassroomĪside from simply allowing students to tinker with pattern blocks, there are many pattern block activities that focus on building specific skills. That means children have to focus on their fine motor movements and hand-eye coordination to achieve the desired outcome. When children use them to create patterns and pictures, one wrong move can mess up the whole design. This helps students build spatial awareness and sharpen their visual discrimination skills.

If students are copying a pattern or picture, they need to pay close attention to the position of each shape. The pattern blocks can be rotated and flipped, achieving variations of the shape. Students can learn the correct name of each shape and also describe the pictures and designs they create with pattern blocks.įinally, working with pattern blocks also helps students develop spatial awareness and build fine motor skills. In the upper elementary grades, pattern blocks can be used to learn about fractions, angles, and geometry.Īs students work with pattern blocks, they also build their vocabularies. Plus, students can learn about shapes, symmetry, and area. In kindergarten, first, and second grades, the colorful blocks can be used to count, sort, and make patterns. Soon, the floor will be covered with designs, patterns, and pictures they’ve created.įor topics in math, pattern blocks offer a hands-on way to explore numerous topics. If you leave a bucket of pattern blocks on the floor without direction, children will quickly start exploring with them. Pattern blocks encourage creativity, and kids are naturally drawn toward them. Plus, working with pattern blocks can help children build fine motor skills. Pattern blocks are fun, and engaging manipulatives that can be used to teach concepts in math, geometry, art, and even language arts. Skills Students Learn from Pattern Blocks That makes it easy for students to fit the pieces together when creating pictures and designs. Except for the trapezoid, the lengths of all sides of each shape are the same. The traditional colors and shapes are a yellow hexagon, red trapezoid, green equilateral triangle, blue rhombus, orange square, and thin beige rhombus.

A set of pattern blocks typically consists of six different shapes in six different colors. Pattern blocks were developed in the 1960s by the Education Development Center. Or maybe you created an animal using the colorful blocks. Perhaps you made a pretty, symmetrical flower with a hexagonal yellow center. You might even remember working with them as a child. In simple terms, they are colored geometric shapes typically made of wood or plastic. Pattern blocks are a popular manipulative found in most elementary classrooms.

Pattern blocks templates