Fourth graders at Laburnum Elementary have been identifying number patterns which is an important math skill (SOL 4.15), so today I wanted to show them how computers can help create and identify patterns. Since this was the first time many of them had worked with spreadsheets, I gave them a Numbers template to get started. You can download it by clicking here. I just made the cells and the fonts a little larger for clarity. First I explained to the students how the cells work and how they are identified (such as A1 and B2) since that understanding is essential for writing formulas. Next we added the headers “In” (to cell B1) and “Out” (to cell C1) because I wanted to start with simple In-Out formulas. I told them to write a number between 1 and 10 in B2, and then I showed them how to write their first formula in C2. We did an addition formula first: =B2+?. I let them choose another number between 1 and 10 for the “?”. When they pushed Enter, they saw the instant magic of formulas! Next they erased their number in B2 and switched seats with a partner. The partner had to enter numbers into B2 in order to try and figure out what the formula was in C2. Once they figured it out, they wrote the rule in A2. We did a similar process for subtraction =(B3-?), multiplication =(B4*?), and division =(B5/?) formulas. Now that they were familiar with formulas, I had the students create their own patterns using multiple cells. Then their partners had to figure out the patterns and write them in column A. It was a great learning experience, with the students not only gaining a clearer understanding of patterns, but also of how to create spreadsheets. You can see a student sample by clicking the picture.
