Year 3 Mathematics Lesson Plan – Number patterns

Year group: 3
ICT resources: Laptop/PC, digital projector/IWB, Excel, Number Grid ITP
Teaching objectives:
Mental
  • To count on in 5s from any 1 or 2 digit number.

Main

  • To investigate patterns in a 100 square grid.
  • To explain how patterns change when the number of columns in the 100 square grid changes.

References to the Framework:
Year 3 teaching programme
i)Numbers and the number system 2-7: Counting, properties of numbers and number sequences. Objective 7: Count on in steps of 5 from any small number.
ii) Solving problems 62-65: Reasoning about numbers. Objective 63: Recognise
simple patterns and relationships. Objective 65: Explain methods and
reasoning.
Activities:
  • Organisation:
Whole Class for mental warm-up and main teaching input, followed by children working in 3 ability groups. Whole class plenary.
  • Teacher input:
Oral and mental starter
Use Number Grid ITP to practise counting on in 5s from different numbers. Use hide and reveal functions of ITP to ask children to predict next numbers in sequence without support of number grid.
Main Teaching input
Explain to children that they are going to investigate patterns in number grids. Demonstrate how patterns in the 5 times-table change when the size of the number grid is changed. Discuss why this happens. Can children predict what the pattern will be for different sized grids? See if any children can explain that the pattern is only in columns when the number of columns is in the 5 times-tables; teach this if children do not offer this as an explanation.
Pupil participation

Differentiated Group Activities

Top Group (ICT) Children to investigate patterns in the 3 and 4 times-tables using Number Grid ITP and choosing different sized grids. Children to record how the patterns change for different grids in Word or their maths books.
Middle Group: Children complete ‘Number Grids Activity 2.’
Lower Group: Children complete ‘Number Grids Activity 1.’
Other Resources: This document has other suggestions for using the Number Grid ITP: ‘Number Grid Activity.doc’
Plenary
Display pattern in the 4 times-table on 10 column number grid. Ask children to predict how pattern will change for 9 columns. Why? Can children predict what sized grids will give the same pattern as in the 10-column grid?