K - Act. 07: Fruity Counters

Summary

This activity will help students classify objects together that are similar by one attribute. It will reveal if students understand what a pattern is and how to make one using real objects and record it with pattern block stickers.

Materials

• one bag of fruity counters for each participant
• black paper (4 1/2"x6" pieces)
• pattern block stickers

Additional Resources
Sort many other kinds of things: pattern blocks, unifix cubes, junk boxes, etc.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Intended Learning Outcomes

4. Develop physical skills and personal hygiene.
5. Understand and use basic concepts and skills.

Process Skills
Observation, prediction, data collection and interpretation, classification, segmentation and blending, description

Instructional Procedures

Invitation to Learn
Today we are going to do some fun things with this bag of counters. While I pass one to each person, open yours and play with them for a minute (free exploration).

Instructional Procedures

1. Call the students back to the rug or another area away from the counters and ask students what kinds of fruits are in the jars. (If you leave them at the tables with counters, students will play with the counters and not pay attention to this activity.)
2. Using interactive writing, write the names of the fruits on the board.
3. Have them go back to the tables and ask them to sort the fruits by kind.
4. Ask students to make a pattern using the fruits.
5. Record the pattern so they can remember what it was using a piece of black paper and pattern block stickers.
6. Name the pattern using either color, ABC, or something else.
7. Share the pattern with the group by having each student tell what his or her pattern is by a name, such as color (yellow, green, green), alphabet letter (ABAB) or name of fruit (banana, strawberry, banana, strawberry).

Extensions

Possible Extensions/Adaptations

1. Sort the fruit in other ways: color, shape (round and not round), what I like/don't like.
2. Have students make a list of foods that are red, yellow, and green.
3. Write the names of the fruits under the stickers.
4. Create a writing prompt such as "I like ___________ because __________." Have students write and draw a picture. Create a class book to put in classroom library.

Parent Connections
Encourage students to talk about how they sort things at home: the dishes, the laundry, toys, etc.

Assessment Plan

• Can students sort by colors? Can they copy their pattern with stickers?
• Watch as the students sort to be sure they can sort by other attributes.