Which patterns are there?

AB (apple, fish, apple, fish), ABB, ABC and a mixed set where every row has a different pattern, including AAB.

How do children fill in the boxes?

They draw the next pictures in the dotted boxes. For younger children, print a second copy, cut out pictures and glue them in.

Why practise patterns?

Spotting the part that repeats is the start of algebraic thinking, and it builds the habit of looking for structure, which helps with counting on, skip counting and times tables later.

Is there an answer key?

Yes, at the end of the PDF, with the missing pictures drawn in.

Pattern Worksheets: What Comes Next? AB, ABB and ABC Picture Patterns

From AB to ABC

Start with AB patterns, which most children in K1 can continue. ABB and ABC patterns have a longer repeating part, so children need to hold more in mind. The mixed set is a good check: every row asks them to find the rule again.

Make it physical

Before the sheet, build the same pattern with blocks, claps or children standing in a line. Then the drawing makes sense.

In the MOE curriculum

K1–K2The NEL Framework asks children to recognise, extend and create patterns such as ABAB and ABC, and to describe them.
SortingChildren also match, sort and compare things by colour, shape, size, length or height.
Primary 1Patterns in number sequences.
Primary 2Making and completing patterns with 2D shapes by size, shape, colour or orientation.

The NEL Framework puts patterns in the same goal as relationships, so ask children to say the rule out loud as well as draw the next picture. Explaining a pattern is part of the goal, not an extra.

In Primary 2, patterns change attributes rather than objects: a big red square, a small red square, a big red square. This maker uses pictures, so for P2 have children draw shape patterns of their own on the back, changing one or two attributes at a time.

Summarised in our own words from the MOE Primary Mathematics Syllabus (2021, updated October 2025) and the Nurturing Early Learners Framework (2022).