What's a tokidoki, you ask? Well, there are several varieties, and basically they are born with a certain number of segments on their body, and then grow new ones over the year. Some are born with 3 segments and add 4 more each year, some are born with 2 segments and add 5 more each year. There are lots of different types of tokidokies and they all grown using different patterns.

This activity uses tokidokis to promote the idea of using patterns to solve a problem. If you have a tokidoki that was born with 3 segments and adds 4 each year, and you find a tokidoki that has 19 segments, how old would the tokidoki be? This is a problem you can solve algebraically, but my 2nd graders solve it using a table to organize the information, and then extend the table to determine the age of the different kinds of tokidokis.

There's also a nice challenge problem in which I give the age of three different tokidokis and your students have to figure out how fast it grows and how many segments it had when it was born.

Yes, the answer key is included, and I've also included a customized Creature Feature DIY sheet so that your student can make up their own "tokidoki" question.

BTW, you know there is no such creature as a "tokidoki." It's actually the Japanese word for "sometimes," which I find highly amusing.