Week 19 · Axis 3, Chapter 2 A New Look to Ancient Art (A) · 3 lessons
2
Patterns, colours and jewellery
Discover P3 Term 2: Axis 3, Chapter 2
GoalFind the area of a rectangle by counting squares, use fractions of a design, and continue a repeating pattern for a bracelet.
New words
area · the number of squares that cover a flat shapefraction · a part of a whole that has been split into equal partspattern · shapes or colours that repeat in the same ordershade · a lighter or darker version of one colour
Explanation
Artists plan a flat design on squares. The area of a design is the number of squares that cover it. A panel that is 6 squares wide and 4 squares tall has 4 rows of 6 squares, so its area is 6 × 4 = 24 square units. We can also split a design into equal parts. If a panel is split into 8 equal parts and 3 parts are blue, then the blue part is 3 out of 8, or 3/8. A pattern repeats shapes or colours in the same order, such as circle, square, triangle, circle, square, triangle. Jewellery makers in ancient Egypt used patterns of bright blue, green, red and gold-coloured pieces. A famous young king, Tutankhamun, was buried with many treasures, and they are now kept in museums. Colours have shades: we can make a colour lighter by pressing gently with a pencil and darker by pressing harder.
Worked examples
Area by counting. A panel on squared paper is 6 squares wide and 4 tall. 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 24, or 6 × 4 = 24 square units.
Fractions of a design. A strip is split into 8 equal parts and 3 are painted blue. The blue part is 3/8, and the other part is 5/8.
A bracelet pattern. Farida threads beads: red, blue, red, blue, red, blue. The pattern repeats 3 times, so there are 2 × 3 = 6 beads.
Class activity
Pattern design. Draw a rectangle on squared paper, 6 squares wide and 5 tall, and find its area. Colour a repeating pattern of two colours and write the fraction of each colour. Then design a bracelet strip with at least two shapes that repeat. Practise shades: draw four squares of one colour from light to dark by pressing harder each time. No sharp tools are needed.
Practice
1
How many squares cover this rectangle? Write the area.
3 rows of 5 squares: 3 × 5 = 15 square units.
2
What fraction of the strip is coloured?
5 out of 8 parts: 5/8.
3
What colour comes next in the bracelet?
Yellow. The pattern is green, yellow, green, yellow, green, yellow.
4
A bracelet has 12 beads. The pattern of 3 beads repeats. How many times does the pattern repeat?
