Pattern Cats, 1st Grade

I have seen this project done on many websites, and I have even done this one myself before. Though, this is the first time I have done it with first grade. I love this project, because it is a really simple way to teach patterns. To begin this project, I have each child choose a piece of construction paper. Then with oil pastels, I have them draw one large pattern onto the paper. After this, we put the construction paper aside, and I give each child a piece of white paper and a black marker. I then show students step by step how to draw a cat. Once this is done, I have the students draw several lines to break the cat up into several sections. In each section, students use the black marker to draw patterns. I encourage the students to color parts of the design in to make it darker (Many do not think to do this if not encouraged). I just love what my first graders did with this project. Last time I did this lesson, I did it with third and fourth grade. While I liked the lesson when the older kids did it, I just LOVE it for the younger ones.