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Copyright © 3P Learning – These resources have been created in partnership with Dr. Marian Small.
For more information visit
www.mathletics.comQuestions to facilitate the learning
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What makes something a pattern? Why are yours patterns?
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What part of your pattern repeats?
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What else could you have changed besides colour and shape?
Scaffolding the learning
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Could you put a circle next?
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Could you put a blue shape next?
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Do you think you could include triangles?
What’s the point of this task?
This task helps students realise that knowing the start of a pattern does not determine the pattern; any
start can be continued in many different ways to create patterns. No pattern is ‘set in stone’ until someone
indicates the rule for the pattern, i.e. what is the core or how the pattern grows. Even the pattern below can
be continued many ways.
Although most people assume it continues alternating red and blue circles, it could well be that what is
shown is followed by three alternating red/blue pairs of squares, then back to circles, then squares, etc.
Some students will believe that the only way to continue the pattern in the task is repeating the same three
shapes they see, but encourage students to think of other ways as well.
Extending the learning
Students might create a different pattern start, e.g.
the one on the right that is slightly more complex and
continue it many ways:
Lots of Patterns
Patterns