Pattern Hunter · For Teachers
Teacher Guide
Facilitation notes, answer keys, and printables for the Pattern Hunter unit.
📥 Printables
The practice worksheet pairs with Lesson 1, and the lesson plan gives you objectives, standards alignment, and a minute-by-minute flow. Generated right here; nothing is uploaded anywhere.
About this unit
Pattern Hunter builds pattern recognition: the foundation under algebra (rules and functions), data science (trends), and mathematical thinking generally. Unit 2 has four lessons; all four lessons are ready.
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Lesson 1: The Pattern Zoo
Goal: students distinguish repeating patterns (a looping chunk), growing patterns (a change rule), and Fibonacci (each term = sum of the previous two), and can predict the next term of each.
Answer key: Game 2 (type the next number)
- 2, 5, 8, 11, 14 → 17 (add 3)
- 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 → 96 (double)
- 1, 4, 9, 16, 25 → 36 (square numbers)
- 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 → 21 (Fibonacci)
Answer key: worksheet Part 1
- A) 19, 22 (add 3) · B) 32, 64 (double) · C) 20, 15 (subtract 5)
- D) 13, 21 (Fibonacci) · E) 36, 49 (squares) · F) stomp (repeating)
Answer key: worksheet Part 2 (safari)
- red/blue/blue → R · 3,6,9,12 → G · 2,3,5,8,13 → F · moon/star/sun → R
Look-fors: students name the rule, not just the next term ("it adds 3" beats "17"); on the safari they justify the species; the invented pattern in Part 3 has a consistent, checkable rule.
Discussion prompts: Where did you see a pattern this week outside school? · What's the difference between a repeating and a growing pattern? · Why might a scientist care about which species a pattern is?
Lesson 2: The Cafeteria Mystery
Goal: students experience why raw data must be organized, read a frequency table to find a pattern, and use the pattern to make (and justify) a data-driven decision.
Answer key
- Most hot-lunch business → Monday (pizza, 85 of 100).
- Fish-stick day oddity → yogurt choices double (kids pick a trusted backup).
- Meatloaf prediction → about 20 of 100 (same menu → same behavior).
- Recommendation → prepare far fewer meatloaf trays.
Look-fors on the written advice: cites a number from the table as evidence ("only 20 of 100 chose hot lunch"); connects data to the decision; bonus if they suggest replacing meatloaf or predicting yogurt demand on fish day.
Discussion prompts: Why could no one see the pattern before it was organized? · What other school decisions could data like this improve? · What might make next Wednesday break the pattern?
Lesson 3: The Number Game Challenge
Goal: students determine function rules by testing inputs, use systematic strategies (feed 0; feed 1 then 2), and express rules in words, the heart of algebraic thinking.
Answer key
- Machine BLIP → add 7 · Machine ZAPPO → multiply by 3 · Machine SNEAKY → double, then add 1. (The challenge number is chosen dynamically and always avoids inputs the student already tested.)
- Speed round: add 4 · multiply by 5 · double, then subtract 1 · cut in half.
Look-fors: clever inputs (0 exposes the added amount; 1 and 2 expose the multiplier); testing a guess before claiming victory; rules stated in words. The "BE the Rule Keeper" build makes a great pair activity.
Discussion prompts: Why is feeding 0 such a powerful move? · How is a rule machine like a pattern from Lesson 1? · Where do input→output rules show up in real life (prices, recipes, game scores)?
Lesson 4: The Pattern Masquerade (isomorphism)
Goal: students abstract patterns to letter skeletons (A-A-B), recognize when two differently-presented patterns share a structure, and generate two representations of one structure, an informal but genuine introduction to isomorphism.
Answer key: the games
- Twins: frogs 🐸🐸🦋 ↔ X X O (A-A-B) · moon-star ↔ 1 2 1 2 (A-B) · snap-STOMP-STOMP ↔ ▲■■ (A-B-B).
- X-Ray: pizza → A-A-B · do-re-mi → A-B-C · 5 5 7 → A-A-B (twin of pizza!) · octopus-crab-crab → A-B-B.
Answer key: Party Kit
- Part 1: A-B-A-B-A-B · A-A-B-A-A-B · A-A-B-A-A-B · A-B-B-A-B-B · A-B-C-A-B-C.
- Part 2 twins: 1↔z (A-A-B) · 2↔x (A-B) · 3↔y (A-A-A-B).
Look-fors: students say "same skeleton" rather than "they look alike"; in the Costume Shop, both costumes follow the skeleton exactly. Extension for advanced students: the classic game-of-15 ↔ tic-tac-toe isomorphism (pick numbers 1–9 summing to 15, it's secretly tic-tac-toe on a magic square).
Discussion prompts: Why does a map work even though it isn't the city? · What do sheet music and a song share? · Where else are two things "the same underneath"?