Patterns for Kindergarten
A pattern is something that repeats in a way we can predict. When children notice what comes next, they are building the kind of thinking that helps with number sense, algebra, music, and reading.
What Is a Pattern?
A pattern repeats again and again. You might see red, blue, red, blue. You might clap, stomp, clap, stomp. Once you know the part that repeats, you can figure out what comes next.
Patterns can use colors, shapes, numbers, sounds, or movements.
Copy the Repeating Part
The most important job in pattern work is to find the part that repeats. In an AB pattern, two things repeat. In an AAB pattern, the first thing appears twice before the second thing appears.
When children say the pattern aloud, they notice the structure more easily.
Figure Out What Comes Next
Once you know the repeating part, you can predict the next item. In a shape pattern like circle, square, circle, square, the next shape must be a circle.
This is a great place to practice slowing down and checking the whole pattern before answering.
Make Your Own Pattern
Children learn patterns best when they build them. Use blocks, crayons, snack pieces, or body movements. A child might make a yellow-green-yellow-green pattern or a jump-clap-jump-clap pattern.
Creating a pattern shows that the child understands the rule, not just the next answer.
📝 Key Vocabulary
📐 Standards Alignment
Analyze and compare shapes and other objects by their attributes.
Look for and make use of structure.
Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
🔗 Glossary Connections
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Watch For
- Looking at only the last two items instead of the whole pattern
- Mixing up the repeating part in AAB or ABB patterns
- Changing more than one thing at a time in a new pattern