Number Patterns Teaching Resources
Explore number patterns in your maths classes this school year with fun worksheets, games and more teacher resources created to help your students understand how numbers in a sequence relate to one another.
Aligned with the Australian Version 9.0 maths standards, the printable and digital activities in this collection were created by the maths teachers on the Teach Starter team to help you save time on your lesson plans.
Whether this is your first year teaching about number patterns or you're just looking for a little extra help, we've got you covered. Read on for a primer from our teacher team! We explain what number patterns are so you can share with your class, plus we explore three common patterns.
What Are Number Patterns? A Kid-Friendly Definition
A number pattern is a series of numbers that each follow the same rule. These patterns or sequences can help us find missing numbers or identify what number will come next in a series.
For example, let's say you are given the following list of numbers:
- 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24
This is an example of a number pattern in which the next number in the series is 4 more than the previous number. Once you can identify the pattern in a series of numbers like this one, you can then use that pattern to determine what number comes next or even what numbers could have come before the list began.
This is one of the many reasons number patterns are an important part of building our students' algebraic reasoning skills. They help kids understand how numbers can be related to one another and apply what they know about those relationships to solve problems.
3 Common Types of Number Patterns
We can't talk about number patterns without breaking down the different types your students are going to encounter in their maths journey!
Linear Patterns
Linear patterns are number patterns in which the numbers increase or decrease by the same amount each time.
The example used above — in which each number in the series increased by a quantity of 4 — is a simple example of a linear pattern.
Geometric Number Patterns
Another type of pattern students may have to contend with is the geometric number pattern. This type involves numbers that are multiplied or divided by a constant factor.
The multiplication table is an example of a geometric number pattern.
Recursive Patterns
Students will have to make full use of their understanding of the four whole number operations to work with recursive patterns. That's because this pattern involves finding each successive number in the sequence by performing a specific operation on the previous number(s).
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Input Output Games - 'The Cupcake Catastrophe' Escape Room
Play input output games like this ‘Cupcake Catastrophe’ escape room to put the 'FUN' in functions!
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Christmas Skip Counting - Printable Puzzles
Grab a set of 10 printable Christmas puzzles to help students skip count in the classroom.
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Algebra Questions Year 6 Worksheet Set
Share these algebra questions year 6 worksheets with your students to level up their skills in identifying number patterns and following the order of operations.
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Number Patterns Year 2 Worksheet Set
Download this number patterns year 2 worksheet set to give your students practice skip counting, recognising patterns and solving word problems.
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1–120 Number Charts With Missing Numbers
A set of 5 worksheets with missing numbers from 1–120.
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Number Patterns Year 5 Worksheet Set
Explore algebraic ideas with this number patterns year 5 worksheet set that provides practice extending patterns, writing equations and completing number sentences.
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Number Patterns Year 4 Worksheet Set
Use this number patterns year 4 worksheet set to give your students practice with multiplication and division number patterns.
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Number Patterns Year 3 Worksheet Set
Share our number patterns year 3 worksheet set with your students to give them practice with number patterns and algebraic relationships.
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Number Patterns Year 1 Worksheet Set
Share this number patterns year 1 worksheet set with your students to introduce them to early concepts of algebra.
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Roll to 100 Odd and Even Game
Create a fun maths station with this roll to 100 game where students show their knowledge of odd and even numbers up to 100.
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Skip Counting Caterpillar Worksheet Pack
Craft a Skip Counting Caterpillar with our printable skip counting cut and paste worksheets for year 1.
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Skip Counting Worksheet — Counting by 2, 5 and 10
Practise counting by 2, 5 and 10 with this skip counting worksheet.
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Emoji Equation Riddles - Determine the Unknown
Determine the value of an unknown variable in an equation with printable Emoji Maths Riddle task cards.
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Identifying Number Patterns and their Rules PowerPoint
A 15 page editable PowerPoint to use in the classroom when introducing number pattern rules.
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Identifying Prime and Composite Numbers – Worksheet
Use understanding of factors to identify composite and prime numbers with this worksheet.
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Number Pattern Worksheets - 1 to 20
An professor themed place value worksheet to use in the classroom when completing number patterns.
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Hundreds Board
A hundreds chart that can be used for a variety of activities.
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Numbers 1-20 Puzzle Pack
Identify and sequence the numbers from 1 to 20 with a set of Numbers 1-20 puzzles for kids.
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Input Output Tables Worksheets
Provide these input output tables worksheets to your students to give them practice identifying and extending number patterns using all four operations.
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Charts of Odd and Even Numbers Up to 500
Encourage your students to identify odd and even numbers with this set of number charts up to 500.
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Maths Mazes (Number Sequencing)
Skip count your way through these mazes that focus on number sequencing.
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Skip Counting Robot Worksheets - 2s, 5s and 10s
A set of 4 robot themed worksheets to help students skip count by 2s, 5s and 10s.
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Input and Output Activities — Additive and Multiplicitive Patterns Match - Up
Use input and output activities like this additive and multiplicative patterns match-up game to give your students practice thinking algebraically.
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Skip Counting Puzzles
Practise skip counting and identifying multiples of numbers with printable skip counting puzzles for kids.
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Multiplying and Dividing by Powers of 10 Worksheet Set
Share this multiplying and dividing by powers of 10 worksheet set to help your students learn how to multiply and divide whole numbers by 10, 100 and 1000.
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Dot-to-Dot Drawing - Numbers by 10 - Shark
Join the dots and numbers to make a picture.
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Function Machine Interactive Game
Share this function machine interactive game with your students, providing them a fun way to practise identifying and continuing number patterns.
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Input / Output Data Tables and Graphs Worksheets
Differentiate instruction with these data tables and graphs worksheets that have students completing input / output tables and plotting the points on a Cartesian plane.
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Fishing Odd or Even Numbers Worksheets
Go fishing for odd and even numbers with your students using this set of three worksheets.
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I Spy Odd and Even Number Worksheet
Practise determining odd and even numbers of objects with this fun scavenger hunt worksheet.
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Counting by 5's Maze
Get to the party by skip counting to 100 with our counting by 5’s worksheet.
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Number and Place Value Worksheets - Foundation
10 number and place value worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
- Number Patterns Worksheets
- Number Patterns Games
- Number Patterns Posters
- Number Patterns Templates
- Number Patterns for Preschool/Kindergarten
- Number Patterns for Foundation Year
- Number Patterns for Year 1
- Number Patterns for Year 2
- Number Patterns for Year 3
- Number Patterns for Year 4
- Number Patterns for Year 5
- Number Patterns for Year 6
- Number Patterns for Year 7