Technology — numeracy (Year 1)
Example short assessment
In the Australian Curriculum, numeracy is one of the general capabilities embedded across all
learning areas.
Students become numerate as they develop the knowledge and skills to use mathematics
confidently across all learning areas at school and in their lives more broadly. They need to
recognise that mathematics is constantly used outside the mathematics classroom and that
numerate people apply mathematical skills in a wide range of familiar and unfamiliar situations.
“Numeracy involves students in recognising and understanding the role of mathematics in the
world and having the dispositions and capacities to use mathematical knowledge and skills
purposefully.” 1
Assessment format
Written: creating patterns
Spoken: describing patterns
Targeted indicator
Recognising and using patterns and relationships
PR 1 i
Describe, create and extend increasing and decreasing patterns using skip counting and describe
the rules used
Context
This assessment provides a Technology context for children to demonstrate numeracy
knowledge, understanding and skills by designing bracelets that represent repeated, increasing
and decreasing patterns.
This assessment could be linked to Year 3 Essential Learnings:
• Technology: Knowledge and understanding — Technology as a human endeavour
- Technology is part of our everyday lives and activities
• Technology: Knowledge and understanding — Information, materials and systems (resources)
- Resources are used to make products for particular purposes and contexts
• Technology: Ways of working
- Identify the purpose for design ideas
- Generate simple ideas for designs
- Communicate major features of their designs, using 2-D or 3-D visual representations and
words.
Australian Curriculum v5.0, accessed 27 Jun 2013,
<www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Numeracy/Introduction/Introduction>.
13491 R1
1
This assessment could also be linked to Australian Curriculum Mathematics content:
• Number and Algebra — Patterns and algebra
- Investigate and describe number patterns formed by skip counting and patterns with
objects (ACMNA018).
Students should be provided with multiple opportunities to demonstrate numeracy knowledge,
understanding and skills.
Teacher information
This assessment is an example of one way that teachers may gather evidence of a child’s ability
to demonstrate the highlighted section of the targeted indicator.
Children need to know and understand that products are developed for particular purposes and
contexts. This understanding will support the development of their creative designs in
Technology. This short assessment could be used as an introductory activity within a Technology
unit. Children could then complete the design process by making their bracelet, evaluating their
product and reflecting on their learning.
Before completing this assessment, children should have developed an understanding of what
makes up a pattern, e.g. numbers or objects that have been arranged according to a particular
rule. They could also explore various images and real-life examples of jewellery, with a particular
focus on the patterns used to create these products.
This assessment may be differentiated by making adjustments to teaching, learning and
assessment by:
• providing extra time for some students who are reluctant readers and need adjusted time
• scheduling the assessment at an appropriate time to maximise learning
• providing instructions using the child’s preferred communication style, e.g. spoken/signed,
written
• providing modelling and examples to scaffold the assessment
• providing access to hands-on materials, e.g. beads
• allowing for alternative response modes if necessary, e.g. use of computers
• allowing for individual ability levels through an open-ended response.
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Technology — numeracy (Year 1) Example short assessment
Implementation
Some key points regarding the implementation of this assessment are outlined in the table below.
Please adjust to cater for the unique needs of the children in your class.
The teacher
Children
• Revises previous learning by reading
through the stimulus Patterns in jewellery
and discussing the three types of patterns
(repeating pattern, decreasing pattern,
increasing pattern).
• Allows the children to suggest further
examples for each pattern type.
• Listen as the teacher reads through the
three types of patterns.
• Explains to the children that they are going
to draw three different designs for a
bracelet, using each of the pattern types.
• Listen as the teacher explains the
assessment and ask questions to clarify
instructions.
• Explains and models to the children how to
record their answers, e.g. using a straight
line and various shapes and colours to
represent the beads.
• Draw bracelet designs on the recording
sheet Making bracelets, or, complete
designs using an appropriate computer
program
• Records the children’s descriptions of their
patterns using the recording sheet Making
bracelets.
• Describe each design to the teacher.
• Participate in class brainstorm to suggest
pattern examples.
Resources
• Visual images or real-life examples of jewellery, focusing on bracelets.
• Hands-on materials, e.g. beads.
• One copy per child of:
- the stimulus Patterns in jewellery
- the recording sheet Making bracelets per child.
• Computers (optional).
Gathering evidence
Evidence of student demonstrations of the indicators can be recorded on the Monitoring Maps.
Teachers analyse the evidence to inform decisions about ongoing teaching and learning.
Queensland Studies Authority September 2013
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Stimulus: Patterns in jewellery
Jewellery can be made from various types of mathematical patterns.
A repeating colour pattern
e.g. orange, green, pink, orange, green, pink
A pattern which gets smaller or bigger using size
e.g. small, smaller, smallest
A pattern which gets smaller or bigger using number
e.g. 1 red, 2 yellow, 3 blue
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Technology — numeracy (Year 1) Example short assessment
Recording sheet: Designing bracelets
Design some bracelets using the three types of patterns.
Name: ..................................................................
Date: .......................................
Draw a repeating colour pattern for your bracelet
Teacher notes — record the child’s description of their pattern
Queensland Studies Authority September 2013
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Draw a pattern getting smaller in size or number for your bracelet
Teacher notes — record the child’s description of their pattern
Draw a pattern getting bigger in size or number for your bracelet
Teacher notes — record the child’s description of their pattern
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Technology — numeracy (Year 1) Example short assessment