Shape and Pattern Hunt

Pattern is where mathematics starts, and there is more of it in a hedge than in a textbook.

The hunt

Print it, write it on a scrap of paper, or just read it out. It works either way.

1. A circle

2. A spiral

3. Something with a line of symmetry

4. Something that repeats

5. A branching pattern

6. Something with exactly five parts

7. Something that has broken a pattern

How to run it

Thirty minutes, with a phone camera if you have one. Item seven is the sophisticated one. A leaf that should be symmetrical and is not, because something ate it, is a pattern with a story attached.

Spirals are the highlight and they are everywhere once you look. Ferns, shells, seed heads, some flowers.

For younger children

Circles, repeats and one spiral. Point rather than collect.

For older children

Count petals or leaflets across twenty specimens and tally the numbers. Certain numbers appear far more often than others, and noticing that is the beginning of a real question.

What to do afterwards

Photograph the best six and print them as a wall. It is the most attractive thing you will produce all term.

More like this

Every hunt on this site is free and needs no preparation. See the Start Here pages if you want them ordered by age.