Learning Objectives
- Recognise repeating patterns in shapes, colours, and numbers
- Extend a given pattern by finding what comes next
- Create your own patterns using objects or drawings
- Identify patterns in our surroundings
Key Concepts
What is a Pattern?
A pattern is something that repeats in a fixed order. For example, red-blue-red-blue-red-blue is a colour pattern. Circle-square-circle-square is a shape pattern. Patterns are everywhere: on clothes, on tiles, in nature, and even in numbers.
Shape Patterns
We can make patterns using shapes. For example: triangle, circle, triangle, circle, triangle, circle. The next shape in this pattern would be a triangle, because the pattern keeps repeating. We look at the order and find the part that repeats.
Colour Patterns
Colours can also make patterns. If we see yellow, green, yellow, green, yellow, the next colour is green. Some patterns use three colours: red, blue, yellow, red, blue, yellow. The repeating part is red-blue-yellow.
Number Patterns
Numbers can form patterns too. The pattern 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2 repeats 1 and 2. The pattern 2, 4, 6, 8 grows by 2 each time. Finding the rule of a number pattern helps us tell what number comes next.
Patterns in Daily Life
We can see patterns on floor tiles, on fabric, on a zebra's body, and even in the days of the week. Day and night is a pattern. The seasons repeat in a pattern. Patterns make the world beautiful and interesting.
Important Terms
- Pattern: A design or sequence that repeats in a fixed order
- Repeating pattern: A pattern where the same group keeps appearing again and again
- Growing pattern: A pattern where numbers increase by a fixed amount each time
- Extend: To continue a pattern by adding the next items
Quick Revision
- A pattern repeats in a fixed order
- We can make patterns with shapes, colours, numbers, and objects
- To find the next item, look at the repeating part of the pattern
- Number patterns can repeat or grow
- Patterns are found in nature, clothes, tiles, and everyday life
- Practice creating your own patterns with beads, blocks, or crayons