Patterns repeat.
Listen with me. Say the words out loud — a pattern always has a little piece that comes back again and again.
“Red, blue, red, blue, red, blue!”
☝️ this part repeats — it is called the core.
- Find the core: the shortest part that repeats.
- Say it out loud and listen for the echo.
- Then guess what comes next. Detectives do it!
AB patterns
🔴🔵🔴🔵 — two things take turns. Like walk, walk, walk… no! Like red, blue, red, blue.
ABB patterns
🍎🍌🍌🍎🍌🍌 — one comes first, then two of the same. Say it slow!
ABC patterns
⭐🌙☁️⭐🌙☁️ — three friends in a line, then they start over.
What comes next?
Six cases to solve. Tap the answer you think fits. Wrong is OK — real detectives try again.
Your own pattern machine.
Choose a rule — then stamp it over and over. That is how patterns are made!
tap a box to change it!
Patterns you can hear.
Stand up! This pattern is made of sounds. Tap the circles, or press play and copy me.
The core is 4 beats long. It repeats twice!
The Pattern Cat.
Press play and read along — the words light up as you go. Tap any line to hear it again.
stripes are patterns too!
Read it with me
Spot the rhyme
Which two lines end with the same sound? three / free!
Go find a real pattern.
Turn a card to see what to look for. When you find one in your house, tap “I found it!” and put a sticker on your chart.
0 of 8 found — go on, detective!
Official detective badge.
Write your name, then print it or show it to a grown-up.
You have 0 stars. Play the game to earn more!
For grown-ups — how to teach this lesson
Goal today
Recognising and extending repeating patterns (AB, ABB, ABC, AAB) and identifying the core — the foundation for algebraic thinking, counting and rhythm.
Words to use
- “What part comes back?”
- “Say it out loud with me.”
- “How do you know that’s next?”
- “Can you make a new rule?”
Offline extension (10 min)
- Build a bead or cereal-snack pattern.
- Clap rhythms together; let the child lead.
- Walk a sidewalk pattern: crack, step, crack, step.
- Draw an ABAB border around a picture.
If it feels tricky
Go back to two-colour patterns with physical objects and point to each one while naming the colour. Mastery of the AB core comes before ABB/ABC.
Next lesson
Month 2 · Lesson 4: Shape Hunt — 2D shapes in the wild (sides & corners). The stars and stickers you earned stay saved on this device.
Sound & reading aloud
Tap 🔊 in the top bar to mute everything. Text-to-speech uses the browser voice; an en‑US voice gives the nicest result.