Noticing similarities and differences in shapes and designs is an important part of being mathematical.

It is valuable for students to see that shapes and designs have many different characteristics and can be sorted in a variety of ways. In this task students are asked to describe why something is or is not a pattern and students have an opportunity to make up their own pattern. They then see if they can figure out what is missing from each other’s pattern when part of it is covered. This task is great for language development, being descriptive, paying attention to detail and being specific. These are all mathematical skills that are valuable to develop. This activity is a series of sorting activities: sorting emojis, sorting shapes, and shape patterns. You can split it into a series of 2 or 3 days of lessons depending on the amount of time you have for math in your class.