Background Nonverbal Communication Say Whaaat? Creative Writing Trends and Patterns Problem Solving Creative Thinking Say It – Do It (Scientific Writing) Three Dimensional TANGOES * Negotiation (Basic) Supply and Demand Monopoly Teamwork PDCA Cycle Beyond Disabilities Group Decision Making Dynamics	Trends and Patterns Summary/Suggested Uses This exercise helps students to practice identifying patterns and trends as part of scientific analysis. It is also an excellent precursor to other exercises because it allows practice visualizing how the different shapes fit together into pictures. Use this to open units on classifying or scientific investigation. Allow up to 30 minutes. Objectives Participation in this exercise will help students to: Understand the different ways things can be classified Practice grouping using different criteria Materials One set of 24 TANGOES * cards for each group of 2-5 students (need not be identical sets) Poster board for each group (optional) Removable tacky putty for each group (used to stick TANGOES * to poster board) Directions Divide students into groups of 2-5. Make sure that each group has a central work space where they can spread out the cards and everyone in the group can see. Explain that today’s challenge is to group the cards so that the pictures make sense. How we group things may or may not make sense to everyone. Today’s challenge is to explore how we look at things and group the cards so that the pictures make sense to us. Issue a deck of 24 TANGOES * cards to each group. Allow time for groups to examine and group their cards (approximately 5-8 minutes). As students divide cards into like groups, have them stick the cards (by classification or like group) onto the poster board with removable tack. Call time when groups appear to have completed the task or at 15 minutes, whichever comes first. Debrief and Transition Have each group show their poster board with pictures and briefly explain the criteria they used to group the pictures. List criteria for each group on the board. Discuss the following questions: How are the sorting criteria used by each group similar or different? Which pictures in one group move to another based on different criteria? (E.g. can the pictures grouped as geometric designs be further separated into designs with holes and solid designs?) How does the criteria effect the size of the group? How can pieces be used to form something other than their original shapes? (Ex: Can triangular points be formed by squares as well? What shapes typically go together to form rectangles?) Use the results of this discussion to transition into classification systems used in your field.