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After so many requests to make more pattern block printables, I’m excited to share these Pattern Block Animal Printables with you today!
Pattern block activities require students to use pattern blocks to copy designs from cards. You can use plastic or wooden pattern blocks, or printable shapes and glue them to the paper. I highly recommend using these blocks for teaching your students about shapes, problem solving skills, symmetry, and visual discrimination skills.
If you’re looking for pattern blocks, you can get them on Amazon or at an education store like Lakeshore Learning.
Pattern blocks teach children about shapes and is a tool for developing visual discrimination skills. Visual discrimination skills is being able to see differences between objects or pictures, even subtle differences. For the animal printables I’m sharing today, students will determine which of these 6 shapes they will use to fill in the template.
- square
- hexagon
- trapezoid
- parallelogram
- triangle
- rhombus
Visual discrimination skills are important to develop because it helps kids with paying attention to detail. These skills are super important for many sills in reading, writing, and math.
Pattern Block Animals
Today’s printable pack is all about animals! These printables include pattern block templates for the following animals:
- lion
- bear
- elephant
- kangaroo
- hippo
- panda
- tiger
- monkey
- giraffe
- zebra
- eagle
- bat
- turtle
- alligator
For the activity, give the student one of the animal pictures and some pattern blocks.
See if they can fill in the animals with the shapes! It looks so colorful when it’s filled in!
You may also see that students choose a different shape to fill in the animal. For example, a hexagon can be made with two trapezoids.
Some animals are more complex and require more pieces. These pages are great for working on concentration and fine motor skills.
When a student completes the page, have them count how many of each shape they used.
How to Use Pattern Block Animal Printables
Here are some ideas for using this printable in your classroom:
- Fine Motor Centers – Just set out the animal cards on a table with the pattern blocks in the center. Invite children to select a card and create the animal shown.
- Light tables – If you have translucent pattern blocks, they look so cool on a glowing light table. We have this portable one that my kids really love!
- Vertical surfaces – if you have magnetic pattern blocks, you can tape the picture to a vertical surface, like a whiteboard, and have the students fill in the animal with the magnetic shapes.
- Coloring – Assign a color for each shape and color the pages. This one is great if you don’t have pattern blocks.
Other Ideas:
For students who aren’t sure where to begin with this activity or you notice having trouble filling in the animal the correct way, try giving students the number of blocks they need for the picture and instruct them to use all of the blocks to complete the picture.
And for students who find this activity too easy, try hiding the design and see if they can create the animal without the picture!
I hope you love this activity as much as I do! It’s so fun!
To download this free printable, click on the words below:
>>> Pattern Block Animals
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