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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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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Odd and Even Properties Teaching Slides
Teach your students about the properties of odd and even numbers with this interactive teaching PowerPoint.
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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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Bar Model Poster Pack
Help your students solve problems using the four operations with a pack of printable strip diagram anchor charts.
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Decimal Number Patterns – Differentiated Worksheets
Practise determining a pattern and next value in a numerical sequence of decimals to the hundredths place.
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Algebraic Expressions – Interactive Activity
Practise writing, reading and solving algebraic expressions with this set of interactive activities.
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Skip Counting Robot Template
A fun robot template to help students skip count by 2s, 5s and 10s.
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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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10 More, 10 Less, 100 More, 100 Less — I Have, Who Has Game
Find the number ten more than, ten less than, one hundred more than, and one hundred less than the given number in this fun whole-class game!
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Number Patterns – More and Less Worksheets
Use place value skills to mentally add and subtract 10 or 100 to a given number with this set of worksheets.
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Number Sequencing 1 to 20 - Worksheet
A monster themed place value worksheet to use when identifying the missing numbers in a sequence.
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Hundreds Boards with Missing Numbers - 1-100 and 101-200
A set of 12 hundreds boards worksheets with missing numbers.
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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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10 More, 10 Less Differentiated Mazes
Delight your students with this maze challenge, to practise calculating 10 more or 10 less than a value within 120.
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Skip Counting by 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 Posters and Worksheets
Practise and review skip counting by 2,3,4,5,and 10 with a pack of printable skip counting charts and worksheets.
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Hundreds Board
A hundreds chart that can be used for a variety of activities.
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Number Sequencing to 100 - Worksheet
A raindrop themed place value worksheet to use when sequencing numbers to 100.
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Multiply by Powers of 10 Worksheet Set
Use our multiply by powers of 10 worksheet set to give your students practise multiplying whole numbers by 10, 100 and 1000.
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Sequencing Activities — Numbers 1-9 Sausage Dog
Use our sequencing activities like this sausage dog to help your students practise ordering the numbers 1 - 9.
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Odd and Even Properties Student Cheat Sheet
Help students remember the properties of odd and even numbers with this student cheat sheet.
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Odd and Even Colour-by-Number Worksheets
Practise identifying if the sum of two numbers is odd or even with this fun set of colour-by-number worksheets.
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1-100 Number Chart - Sequencing Activity
Count by 1’s with your primary students by arranging number tiles 1-100.
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Robot Pattern Challenge - Additive Patterns Interactive Slides
Engage students with additive patterns interactive slides that offer teachers a ready‑to‑use digital resource for recognising, extending and explaining additive number patterns.
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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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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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Find and Colour – Prime and Composite Numbers
Encourage your year 6 students to identify prime and composite numbers up to 100 with this free find and colour worksheet.
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Odd and Even Number Games
Practise identifying odd and even numbers in this fun set of game boards.
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Skip Counting Worksheets (Complete the Series)
Use this set of skip counting worksheets to check student understanding of skip counting in increasing intervals of 5, 10 and 100, by finishing a series.
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Maths Mazes (Number Sequencing)
Skip count your way through these mazes that focus on number sequencing.
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Snakes and Ladders Hundreds Chart Game
Complete each hundreds chart by putting the missing numbered clusters into place to play a game of Snakes and Ladders.
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100 Chart with Missing Numbers
Practice counting forward beginning from a given number with this set of 100 charts and recording sheets.
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Python Patterns – Match-Up Activity
An activity for students to consolidate copying and creating patterns.
- Number Patterns Worksheets
- Number Patterns Games
- Number Patterns Posters
- Number Patterns Templates
- 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