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This lesson was taught on Wednesday, September 11, 2019. The lesson was all about patterns in math, dance and music! Specifically we focused on patterns in multiplication: Multiplying multiples of 10, 100, 1000. When the power of 10 increases by 1 the number of zeros in the product increase by 1.
To open this class, I began by clapping rhythms and having students repeat what I clapped. Some of the patterns were simply repeating what I had just clapped, others however were finishing a pattern that I had clapped, or required students to hear musical phrases and be able to finish the phrase. This I felt was a good attention-getter, and allowed for community building as the students had to listen then all clap in sync together. I then taught the dance "The Boot Scoot and Boogie". After I had taught all of the steps, I told the students that this dance is in fact a pattern which repeats. Each time we complete on round, we jump, turn, and repeat the patterns until the end of the song. I loved being able to dance this with the students!! It is such a classic, simple dance, yet is always engaging and involves every level of dancer. The dance was perfect for this lesson as they were able to focus on the pattern, and was quick to teach as they only had to be explicitly taught (as they repeated the pattern they were practicing and solidifying the dance steps they'd been taught). By the end of the song, the students had grasped the dance and had created some of their own variations while keeping the integrity of the pattern.
I then changed gears and began discussing math. To begin, the students told me the patterns that they knew in math. They thought of ideas like the 11 times tables, multiplying by ones, the 9 times tables, etc. I loved hearing them be creative in the patterns that they found in the math they were doing. They thought of so many that I had never identified as patterns myself! I was blown away by their suggestions and justifications of the patterns they saw in every day in their mathematical worlds. I then suggested that we look at the ten times tables. The students solved each one to 12 and I scribed on the board the answers as they gave them to me. I wrote the first number 1-12 in one color, then wrote the zeros in a different color. (example: 12(red) *10 (1 in red, 0 in green) = 120 (1&2 in red, 0 in green). To emphasize the patterns and get the students thinking. I never explained the pattern, but rather waited until we had completed all of them 1-12 then asked the students for suggestions of patterns, what they noticed, etc.
After we had solidified both the mathematical content of patterns, and the patterns that occur in both music and dance, it was time to combine them all together to one creative masterpiece! The students came up with a rhythmic pattern using their bodies (clapping, stomping, tapping, etc.) This would represent the red numbers. The students were then asked to come up with a dance sequence to represent the green zeros. The students then completed each pattern according to the number (12*10=120: 12 rhythmic sequences, 1 dance sequence because there is only 1 zero, then all together to represent the product).
To finish, the students came up with their own sequences, (both dance and rhythmic patterns) and their own problem multiplied by 10-1000's and created their own demonstration associated with the problem they chose. After each student shared with and taught a partner their sequences and solved the problem together through dance and music. I loved seeing the thought that went into the sequences both dance and musical that the students thought of! By the end, students were asking if they could do more problems, and if they could do numbers higher than the thousands. It was so exciting for me to see how the students embodied the math they were doing, and the energy that it brought to the classroom and the subject! I left so excited about the creativity, and genuine understanding that the students had demonstrated throughout the lesson!
LINK TO FULL LESSON PLAN: