Sticks and stones may break my bones, but these sticks will make me smarter. Pupils examine arrays of sticks to determine the next array in a pattern. They use the number of sticks added to each previous array to determine a recursive formula and the total number of sticks in each array to determine an explicit formula for the pattern.

Concepts

patterns, geometric patterns, functions

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Additional Tags

math

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Instructional Ideas

• Provide manipulatives, such as matches, to learners who need additional help

Classroom Considerations

• The class needs to be able to write functions for situations
• Some experience with geometric patterns would also be helpful

Pros

• A provided data table allows individuals to collect data in an organized manner
• Answer key provides detailed explanation of all answers in the task

Cons

• Rubric does not distinguish between one or two points for the partial level