Prepare before the students come to class. Many sites offer virtual manipulative games and drills for student practice, but you should make certain that the site is compatible with your computer and that you are familiar with the game and how it is played before you attempt it with your class. Game controls should be easy to explain to the students and accomplished with a tap or two on the smartboard. Sites like Msteacher.org and the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives at Nlvm.usu.edu offer virtual exercises on patterns and functions.
Introduce the topic of patterns. Begin by soliciting prior knowledge and linking it to other subjects. Where can you find patterns in nature? Patterns are in our bodies -- for example, mammals have a head and four legs. Lead this into having the students give examples of patterns in math. For example, times tables are repeating patterns. You can also discuss functions as repeating patterns and show something like population growth or greenhouse gas increases as examples of functional relationships. Activities can be printed or the PDF displayed up on the smartboard. As you lead the discussion, bring up your interactive white board.
Choose a game and introduce its concepts, tying it into the subject of patterns in general. Talk about how math is the study of patterns and how this helps programmers to create computer programs, scientists to learn about the earth and stars, and engineers to make many of the things that make everyday life work, like traffic light grids. You can also use Excel to create function tables with data and talk about how scientists use this to observe proportional and inverse relationships.
Pass out the class set of manipulatives, if available. Demonstrate how to play the game and have students come up and practice before you begin keeping score. When the students are ready, begin the game and have them come up and answer questions. The students may work in teams or individually. The rest of the class should work out the problems at their desks, and take turns sharing solutions on the white board.