Activity Overview
Students learn to organize data, look for patterns, and solve problems. They will count the number of "coins" in a variation of The Twelve Days of Christmas song. They will also generalize the patterns through symbolic expressions.
Before the Activity
See the attached PDF file for detailed instructions for this activity
Print the transparency sheet and pages 4 - 5 from the attached Student PDF file for your class
During the Activity
Distribute the page to the class.
Follow the activity procedures:
Act out the first three days of the poem
Count the coins received each day
Organize the data by listing in a table the day, number of coins received on the day, and the total number of coins
Predict the number of coins received on other days
Complete the table with data for 12 days
Use an algebraic expression to generalize the pattern
Extend the pattern and find the number of coins received after a set number of days
Observe that the sum of the first n whole numbers is n (n + 1)/2
After the Activity
Students complete the activity sheet and answer questions.
Review student results
As a class, discuss questions that appeared to be more challenging
Re-teach concepts as necessary