A fun and exciting way to enhance the learning of patterns is one of our favorite lessons in Math Investigations - Hopscotch Paths. At first the students are very curious when they see us drawing on the carpet with chalk! Not only is this is an excellent way to get their attention, but it also extends patterns to a physical activity. Surprisingly, some children have never played hopscotch or have ever seen it, so this was a great game to enhance schema and have them learn a new game. After a demonstration, students were invited to give it a try - one square for one foot and two squares for both feet. The one-two-one pattern was quickly learned and the children had a lot of fun with it. Then they went back to their seats to find squares of paper for them to construct their own Hopscotch Path. They could get as creative as they wished, however, it had to show a pattern. They loved using their fingers to hop down their path. Next week, we'll be bringing out the chalk during recess. I wonder how many different hopscotch paths we'll find...
