Pattern Train

Little levels (ages 4 to 6)

1. What comes next? Finish red-blue, circle-square and three-color patterns.
2. Longer patterns Two missing cars in patterns like red, blue, blue.
3. Sound patterns Listen to drum, bell and whistle patterns and tap what comes next.
4. Make a pattern Build a six-car train that repeats the pattern given.
5. Find the mistake Tap the one car that breaks the pattern.

Big levels (ages 7 to 9)

1. Growing patterns Towers that grow by one, by two, and by doubling.
2. Number trains Counting by twos, fives and tens, odd numbers, and counting down.
3. Find the rule Add 3, double, or take away 5: name the rule.
4. Two patterns at once A color pattern and a shape pattern on the same train.
5. Build from a rule Start at a number and follow a rule to pick the right cars.

The big ideas

• A pattern is something that repeats. Red, blue, red, blue has a two-part core; red, blue, blue has a three-part core. Finding the core is the key to continuing any pattern.

• Patterns are everywhere. Stripes, songs, days of the week and the beat of a drum are all patterns. Ears can find them as well as eyes.

• Growing patterns change by a rule. Towers of 1, 2, 3 grow by one. Towers of 2, 4, 6 grow by two. Towers of 1, 2, 4, 8 double. The rule tells you the next one.

• Skip counting is a number pattern. 5, 10, 15, 20 is the pattern add five. Knowing the jump lets you continue without counting every number.

• Two patterns can run at once. A train can have a color pattern and a shape pattern together. Check each pattern on its own, then combine the answers.

Try it at home

1. Bead or cereal necklace String beads or cereal loops in a pattern: two red, one yellow, repeat. Then make a different pattern and ask someone to continue it.
2. Clap and stomp Make a body-sound pattern: clap, clap, stomp. Keep it going together, then change one sound and see who notices.
3. Calendar patterns Look at a calendar: the days of the week repeat every seven days. Find the pattern in the numbers going down a column.
4. Staircase towers Build block towers that grow by one, then by two. Ask: how tall would the tenth tower be?

Ask after playing

• What was the part that repeated in your favorite pattern?
• Can you make a pattern with sounds instead of colors?
• If a number train goes 4, 8, 12, what is the rule, and what comes next?