These routines include daily attendance, calendar, survey questions, and a counting jar. Because the unit is introductory in nature, students are also introduced to some of the materials they will be using to explore mathematics. These include interlocking cubes, pattern blocks, Geoblocks, and color tiles. In addition to establishing classroom routines and exploring materials this unit includes suggestions for organizing and managing the classroom environment. In this unit students investigate what makes a pattern and how patterns give us information in order to predict what will come next.
Students also create rhythmic pattern routines using their bodies.
In the second half of the unit students work with more complex patterns such as borders and staircases. They also make pattern paths based on hopscotch, a familiar playground game. In this unit students explore numbers and number relationships through a variety of counting experiences. They count sets of classroom materials such as interlocking cubes, pencils, color tiles and art supplies, make counting books, and count and compare the letters in their names. They play mathematical games and solve mathematical problems which involve counting and accumulating amounts.