Primary 1 · Mathematics · Algebra
Skip counting and patterns
Continuing and creating repeating patterns, and skip counting by twos, fives and tens to notice the number patterns that appear.
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These lessons were written around Australian Curriculum strands and matched to Singapore levels by age (Primary 1 is the first year of primary school). They are not aligned to MOE syllabuses or the PSLE, so check them against the syllabus your child is working towards.
Learning goals
Learners will
- Continue and create repeating patterns and describe the part that repeats.
- Skip count forwards by twos, fives and tens from zero.
- Notice number patterns that appear when skip counting.
Success looks like
- I can continue a repeating pattern and make my own.
- I can count by 2s, 5s and 10s.
- I can find a missing number in a skip-counting pattern.
The big idea
A repeating pattern has a part that happens again and again, such as red, red, blue, red, red, blue. The repeating part here is 'red, red, blue'. Children in Primary 1 can continue patterns, find the repeating part and make their own.
Challenge your child to describe a pattern with letters too: red, red, blue is an A A B pattern. Then make the same A A B pattern with different things, such as clap, clap, jump or cup, cup, spoon.
Skip counting is a number pattern. Instead of counting every number, we jump. Counting by twos goes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 … Counting pairs of socks or eyes in the family is a great way to practise.
Counting by fives goes 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 … Hold up hands: each hand has 5 fingers. The numbers always end in 5 or 0.
Counting by tens goes 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 … all the way to 100. These numbers always end in 0, and the tens digit goes up by one each time.
Colour the skip-counting numbers on a number chart. The twos make stripes of every second column, the fives make two columns, and the tens make one column down the right-hand side. Seeing these patterns helps children predict the next number.
- Twos: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 …
- Fives: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 …
- Tens: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 …
Worked examples
Continuing a repeating pattern
Star, moon, moon, star, moon, moon, star, ___, ___. What are the next two?
- Say the pattern out loud and find the repeating part: star, moon, moon.
- The last shape shown is star, which starts a new repeat.
- After star comes moon, moon.
Answer: Moon, moon.
Counting socks by twos
There are 6 pairs of socks. How many socks altogether?
- Each pair has 2 socks, so count by twos.
- Touch each pair as you count: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12.
- Six pairs were counted and the last number said was 12.
Answer: There are 12 socks.
Finding a missing number
Fill the gap: 15, 20, ___, 30, 35.
- Look at how the numbers change: 15 to 20 is a jump of 5.
- This is counting by fives.
- 5 more than 20 is 25, and 5 more than 25 is 30, which checks out.
Answer: The missing number is 25.
Practice check
Have a go, then check your answers. Each answer comes with an explanation.
Answer guide for parents
Count by twos: 2, 4, 6, 8, ___
10 — Each jump is 2. 2 more than 8 is 10.
Count by fives: 5, 10, 15, ___
20 — Each jump is 5. 5 more than 15 is 20.
Count by tens: 30, 40, 50, ___
60 — Each jump is 10. 10 more than 50 is 60.
Red, blue, blue, red, blue, blue, red, ___. What comes next?
blue — The repeating part is red, blue, blue. After red comes blue.
Which list shows counting by twos?
2, 4, 6, 8 — 2, 4, 6, 8 goes up by 2 each time.
Fill the gap: 10, 20, ___, 40
30 — This is counting by tens. 10 more than 20 is 30.
There are 4 hands. Each hand has 5 fingers. Count by fives. How many fingers altogether?
20 — Count by fives for each hand: 5, 10, 15, 20.
When you count by tens starting at 10, what digit does every number end with?
0 — 10, 20, 30, 40 … every number ends in 0.
Watch out for
- Saying every number while only pointing at every second one (1, 2, 3, 4 instead of 2, 4). Whisper the in-between number and say the skip-counting number loudly.
- Thinking a pattern is just 'colours in a row'. Ask your child to find and say the repeating part each time.
- Losing track when skip counting past 100 or crossing a ten (such as 18, 20, 22). Use a number chart to see where the jumps land.
Tips for parents
- Skip count out loud in the car or on walks — rhythm and repetition help it stick.
- Use real things that come in groups: pairs of shoes (twos), fingers on hands (fives), stacks of ten blocks (tens).
- Ask 'How do you know what comes next?' to encourage your child to explain the pattern.
Go further
- Colour all the twos, fives and tens on a number chart in different colours and talk about the patterns you see.
- Count a pile of coins by putting them into groups of 5 or 10 first.
- Make a pattern 'necklace' from pasta or beads in an A B C pattern and explain the repeating part.
About 30 minutes
You'll need
- Coloured blocks, pegs or beads for patterns
- Pairs of socks or shoes for counting by twos
- Coins or counters grouped in fives and tens
- A number chart from 1 to 100 (hand-drawn is fine) and some coloured pencils
Key words
- pattern
- Something that repeats or changes in a regular way.
- repeating part
- The section of a pattern that happens again and again.
- skip count
- Counting by jumping over numbers, such as 2, 4, 6, 8.
- twos
- Counting on by 2 each time.
- fives
- Counting on by 5 each time.
- tens
- Counting on by 10 each time.
Still tricky?
For parents
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