Dear Parents and Adults at Home   Your child’s class will be starting a mathematics unit on patterns and equations. Patterns occur regularly in mathematics. As children learn to analyse patterns, they develop powerful reasoning skills that will help them make sense of mathematics. Knowing how to create equations helps your child to solve story problems. In this unit, your child will: ·         Analyse a number pattern and state the pattern rule. ·      Pose and solve problems by applying a patterning strategy. ·      Describe a pattern using an expression. ·      Interpret a problem and select the best strategy. ·      Express a problem as an equation. ·      Create and solve equations using all four operations.   Here are some suggestions for activities that you can do at home: ·      Look for visual patterns around your home on fabrics, clothing, wallpaper, etc. How do the patterns change? ·      Often adults use tables to organize data. Talk with your child about how she or he uses tables to organize and analyze patterns. ·      Talk about how you use patterns in your daily life. Here’s a game you can play with your child to help solve for an unknown.   Guess How Many I’m Hiding!   Place some objects such as coins or counters on a table top. Keep some hidden. Tell your child what the total is. Then, have your child guess how many you have hidden and write an equation, e.g., 17 + c = 34, where c represents the hidden quantity. After playing a few rounds, ask your child to hide some of the objects while you guess the unknown quantity.   Thank-you for your support.   Mr. Sonier / grade 5 teacher