What Are Pattern Puzzles?
Denise Burson
Jan 25, 2010
A Pattern Puzzle is a thinking strategy that combines physical manipulation of pieces with mental manipulation of concepts.
Pattern Puzzles are used to:
- Understand patterns and structure
- Categorize or group information
- Sequence events or process steps
- Give students a way to sort and process information
- Explore a variety of structures (Poetry, steps to solve a math problem or geometric proof, scientific experiments, plot of a story)
How?
- Make a copy of a section of text, science or mathematics process, the events in a story, etc.
- Cut the copy into sentences, steps, or events.
- Mix up and put in an envelope.
- Students are to empty the envelope and sort those ideas into a way that makes sense. Perhaps it is to put them into a hierarchy, by grouping smaller ideas into larger concepts or categories. Or students might need to arrange a series of events or steps into a timeline or a process. Or they might be placing individual pieces on a compare/contrast organizer, according to whether they represent similarities or differences. Each of these is a form of organizing; the pattern puzzle activity gives students a way to sort, process and organize information.
- Have students explain their thinking
Language Arts Example
An active approach for understanding patterns and structures is to have students arrange sentences strips to form a well-organized paragraph. Write each sentence on a separate strip of paper. Mix up the strips and demonstrate how to organize them into a paragraph. Use the Think Aloud strategy to explain your thinking. Talk about the topic sentence and the use of transition words.
Science Example
Give students a copy of the grid with only one triangle of information present. From another copy of the puzzle, cut out the triangle pieces containing the information. Students will take the cut up triangle pieces and complete the puzzle. See the example below:
Template (right click on the image, copy, and then paste it into your document):
