{"id":2938,"date":"2023-10-09T09:06:45","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T13:06:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theteachingrabbit.com\/home\/?p=2938"},"modified":"2025-09-11T10:54:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T14:54:54","slug":"patterning-activities-for-kindergarten-and-first-grade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.theteachingrabbit.com\/home\/patterning-activities-for-kindergarten-and-first-grade\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Teach Patterns to Kindergarten and Grade 1 Students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

It’s time to teach Patterning!\u00a0 So, what exactly are patterns?<\/p>\n

Patterns repeat.\u00a0 It can be shapes, objects, colours, numbers, actions, or even sounds.\u00a0 Patterns follow a specific arrangement or sequence called a pattern rule.<\/p>\n

Let’s take a look at some fun patterning activities you can try with your students!<\/p>\n

Identifying Patterns<\/h2>\n

The most basic repeating pattern is an AB<\/strong> pattern.\u00a0 There are only 2 elements that repeat.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples:<\/p>\n

\"AB\"AB<\/p>\n

In the first pattern COLOUR<\/strong> is the attribute that is changing.\u00a0 In the second pattern SHAPE<\/strong> is the attribute that is changing.<\/p>\n

After students understand AB patterns, you can introduce ABC, ABBC,<\/strong> AABB<\/strong> patterns, and more!<\/p>\n

Activity #1: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Look for patterns around the classroom and the school.\u00a0 See how many different kinds of patterns students can find!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Activity #2: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Follow up with some worksheets where students decide whether or not each row is a pattern.\u00a0 You can grab these FREE Patterning Worksheets<\/a> for some independent practice!<\/p>\n

\"patterning<\/a>
Fall Patterning Worksheet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Activity #3: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Set up a math center with task cards where students can identify patterns.\u00a0 You can use cards that have already been made (like the one below) or you can create your own patterns for students to complete.<\/p>\n

\"AB<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Creating Patterns<\/h2>\n

Activity #1:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Students can string beads using different colors to make a necklace or a bracelet.\u00a0 Have them explain their pattern and the rule it is following.<\/p>\n

\"ABC<\/p>\n

Activity #2:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Students can cut out shapes (premade outlines if necessary) and glue them into a row on a blank paper to create their own patterns.<\/p>\n

\"pattern<\/p>\n

Extending Patterns<\/h2>\n

Activity #1:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Give students premade patterns made from connecting cubes or colored blocks.\u00a0 Have them add the next few cubes to extend the patterns.<\/p>\n

\"pattern<\/p>\n

Activity #2:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Use Pattern Blocks.\u00a0 Give students strips with patterns on them that can be completed using one of the shapes in your Patterning Block Kit.<\/p>\n

\"extending<\/a><\/p>\n

Activity #3<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have students work independently on cut and paste activities like this one<\/a> to practice extending patterns.<\/p>\n

\"fall<\/a>
\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many of these activities can be found in my online store<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I have several freebies as well as a few math units.\u00a0 Check them out here<\/a><\/strong>!<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"patterning\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"patterning\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tpatterning unit grade 1\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"patterning\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tpatterning task cards\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"winter\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tpatterning activity\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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It’s time to teach Patterning!\u00a0 So, what exactly are patterns? Patterns repeat.\u00a0 It can be shapes, objects, colours, numbers, actions, or even sounds.\u00a0 Patterns follow […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3600,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-primary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theteachingrabbit.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/patterning-activity.jpg?fit=1156%2C774","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.theteachingrabbit.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.theteachingrabbit.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.theteachingrabbit.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.theteachingrabbit.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.theteachingrabbit.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2938"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"http:\/\/www.theteachingrabbit.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3603,"href":"http:\/\/www.theteachingrabbit.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2938\/revisions\/3603"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.theteachingrabbit.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.theteachingrabbit.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.theteachingrabbit.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.theteachingrabbit.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}