Friday, January 14, 2011

Pascal's Penguins

Pascal's Penguins is an effective introductory activity to the well-known mathematical pattern known as Pascal's Triangle. Students must look for patterns in these penguin variations of Pascal's Triangle. The activity challenges students to identify patterns, fill in the missing numbers and write the next line in the pattern. Class discussion should encourage students to share all of the patterns they see in Pascal's Triangle and discuss how these patterns helped them discover the missing numbers. 

Pascal's Penguins - 1 introduces primary students to a small version of Pascal's Triangle in this simple patterning activity.  
Pascal's Penguins - 2 introduces a larger version of Pascal's triangle and encourages students to identify the different patterns within the triangle and use these patterns to fill in the missing penguin numbers. 

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