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Year 1 · Mathematics · Algebra

Repeating patterns

Noticing, copying and continuing simple repeating patterns made with colours, objects, sounds and actions, such as clap, stamp, clap, stamp.

Awaiting educator review. This material was drafted by our content team with AI assistance and is waiting for review by a qualified educator. Please check it suits your child before using it. Created 10 October 2026. How we review

These lessons were written around Australian Curriculum strands and matched to UK year groups by age (Year 1 is the year a child turns 6 in England). They are not mapped to the National Curriculum in England or the curricula of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, so check them against your own plans.

Learning goals

Learners will

  • Notice when colours, objects, sounds or actions repeat in a pattern.
  • Copy a simple repeating pattern and continue it.
  • Find the part of a pattern that repeats and make a pattern of their own.

Success looks like

  • I can copy a pattern like red, blue, red, blue.
  • I can say what comes next in a pattern.
  • I can make my own pattern and tell you the part that repeats.

The big idea

A repeating pattern is something that goes in the same order again and again. Red, blue, red, blue, red, blue is a pattern because the 'red, blue' part keeps repeating.

Start with your body. Clap, stamp, clap, stamp, and invite your child to join in. Ask, 'What comes next?' Patterns you can hear and feel are often easier for young children than patterns they only see.

Next, make a pattern with objects in a line on the table: spoon, fork, spoon, fork. Ask your child to copy it underneath, then to continue it by adding the next few objects.

Help your child find the part that repeats. Say the pattern out loud together and put a finger after each 'spoon, fork'. This repeating part is sometimes called the core of the pattern.

Once 'A, B' patterns feel easy, try longer ones such as red, red, blue (A, A, B) or clap, stamp, jump (A, B, C). Saying the pattern in a rhythm helps a lot.

Finally, let your child make their own pattern and teach it to you. Can they tell you what comes next, and what part repeats?

  • Clap, stamp, clap, stamp is an A, B pattern.
  • Red, red, blue, red, red, blue is an A, A, B pattern.
  • A pattern must repeat the same way every time.

Worked examples

What comes next?

Look at this pattern: red, blue, red, blue, red, ___. What comes next?

  1. Say the pattern out loud together: red, blue, red, blue, red …
  2. Find the part that repeats: 'red, blue'.
  3. The last one is red, and after red always comes blue.

Answer: Blue comes next.

Continuing an action pattern

The pattern is clap, clap, stamp, clap, clap, stamp. What are the next three actions?

  1. Do the pattern together slowly: clap, clap, stamp.
  2. Notice the part that repeats is 'clap, clap, stamp'.
  3. Do that part one more time to keep the pattern going.

Answer: Clap, clap, stamp.

Is it a pattern?

Spoon, fork, spoon, fork, fork, spoon. Is this a repeating pattern?

  1. Say it out loud: spoon, fork, spoon, fork …
  2. So far 'spoon, fork' repeats, so next should be spoon.
  3. But the line has fork next, so the order has changed.

Answer: No. It is not a repeating pattern because the order does not stay the same.

Practice check

Have a go, then check your answers. Each answer comes with an explanation.

  1. 1.Red, blue, red, blue, red, ___. What comes next?
  2. 2.Clap, stamp, clap, stamp, clap, ___. What comes next?
  3. 3.Which of these is a repeating pattern?
  4. 4.Circle, square, circle, square, circle, ___. What shape comes next?
  5. 5.Big, small, small, big, small, small, big, ___. What comes next?
  6. 6.In the pattern jump, sit, jump, sit, jump, sit, what is the part that repeats?
  7. 7.Apple, banana, apple, banana, ___. What fruit comes next?
  8. 8.Red, red, yellow, red, red, yellow, red, red, ___. What comes next?
Answer guide for parents

  1. Red, blue, red, blue, red, ___. What comes next?

    blue — The part that repeats is red, blue. After red comes blue.

  2. Clap, stamp, clap, stamp, clap, ___. What comes next?

    stamp — The pattern is clap, stamp. After clap always comes stamp.

  3. Which of these is a repeating pattern?

    cat, dog, cat, dog, cat, dog — Cat, dog, cat, dog, cat, dog repeats 'cat, dog' the same way every time.

  4. Circle, square, circle, square, circle, ___. What shape comes next?

    square — The part that repeats is circle, square. After circle comes square.

  5. Big, small, small, big, small, small, big, ___. What comes next?

    small — The part that repeats is big, small, small. After big comes small.

  6. In the pattern jump, sit, jump, sit, jump, sit, what is the part that repeats?

    jump, sit — Jump, sit happens again and again, so 'jump, sit' is the part that repeats.

  7. Apple, banana, apple, banana, ___. What fruit comes next?

    apple — The pattern is apple, banana. After banana the pattern starts again with apple.

  8. Red, red, yellow, red, red, yellow, red, red, ___. What comes next?

    yellow — The part that repeats is red, red, yellow. After two reds comes yellow.

Watch out for

  • Thinking any line of objects is a pattern. Say the line out loud together to check whether the same part really repeats.
  • Continuing a pattern by copying only the last object (red, blue, red, blue, blue, blue). Point to the part that repeats and say it in a rhythm.
  • Losing track in longer patterns such as A, A, B. Put a small gap or a finger after each repeat so the core is easy to see.

Tips for parents

  • Say patterns out loud in a sing-song voice; rhythm helps children hear what comes next.
  • Start with two-colour patterns and only move on to longer ones once your child is confident.
  • Make a deliberate mistake in a pattern and see if your child can catch it and fix it.

Go further

  • Thread pasta or beads on a string in a pattern to make a necklace or bracelet.
  • Go on a pattern hunt at home or outside: look for patterns on clothes, tiles, fences and wrapping paper.
  • Make up a pattern dance with three moves, such as clap, jump, spin, and teach it to another family member.

About 25 minutes

Make a lesson planAssign to my child

You'll need

  • Blocks, Lego bricks or pegs in two or three colours
  • Small objects such as spoons, forks, buttons and pasta
  • Crayons and a long strip of paper
  • A string and large pasta tubes for threading (optional)

Key words

pattern
Something that repeats in the same order again and again.
repeat
To happen again in the same way.
next
What comes straight after.
copy
Make the same thing again, exactly the same way.
core
The small part of a pattern that keeps repeating, such as 'clap, stamp'.
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