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 preschool 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.

CAPS links

Grade RCopies and extends simple patterns with objects and drawings, for example using colours and shapes.
Grade 1Copies, extends and describes in words simple patterns made with objects and drawings, and creates their own.
Grades 1–3Finds and copies geometric patterns in nature, in modern everyday life and in our cultural heritage.

CAPS gives patterns three verbs: copy, extend and describe. Copying shows how a pattern is made, extending checks the child has understood it, and describing builds the language for it. After a sheet, ask children to say the rule aloud.

Patterns, Functions and Algebra carries 10% of the maths time in each Foundation Phase grade. For cultural heritage, look at beadwork, woven mats or painted walls, and ask children to find the repeating part.

Summarised in our own words from the DBE’s Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for Mathematics, Foundation Phase (2011).