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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Function Machine Matching Game
Match input/output tables to their rules in this function machine game with an engaging robot theme.
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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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Additive and Multiplicative Patterns Worksheet
Analyse additive and multiplicative patterns in a fun ‘this’ or ‘that’ format that encourages students to reason logically and defend their answers.
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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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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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Divisible by 2 - Task Cards
Help your students practice determining if a number is divisible by 2 with this set of task cards.
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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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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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Finding Patterns in Addition Charts (Odd and Even Numbers) Worksheet
Explore odd and even number patterns using an addition chart with your students.
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Ordering Numbers Worksheets - Halloween Cut and Paste
Share these ordering numbers worksheets with your students for some spook-tacular Halloween fun!
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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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Odd and Even Task Cards
Help your students consolidate their knowledge of odd and even numbers with this set of task cards.
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Odd and Even Numbers Worksheet (Basic)
Introduce and explore odd and even numbers with this set of odd and even number worksheets.
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Odd and Even Numbers Poster Set
Help students memorise the rules for identifying odd and even numbers.
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Skip Counting Fishing Interactive Activity
Assign this fun fishing game to help your students practise their skip counting skills using digital technology.
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Roll and Multiply Interactive Activity
Teach your students the multiplication strategy of repeated addition using this colourful interactive dice game!
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Skip Counting Worksheets (Fill in the Blanks)
Excerpt: Use this set of skip counting worksheets to check student understanding of skip counting in increasing intervals of 5, 10 and 100.
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I Have Who Has: Skip Counting by 2,3,4,5,10
Teaching skip counting? Introduce your students to our I Have Who Has - style whole class games with this fun and interactive card activity!
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Input-Output Tables and Graphing Task Cards
Practise reading input-output tables and plotting points in the first quadrant with this set of task cards.
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Number Neighbourhood - Number Line Sequencing Cards
Print a set of colourful numbered houses to use for skip counting, ordering, and comparing numbers.
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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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Ratio Tables – Worksheet
Determine missing values to show the relationship between quantities with this ratio tables worksheet.
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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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Complex Dot-to-dot – Prime Numbers (Gymnast) – Worksheet
A complex dot-to-dot where students demonstrate their knowledge of prime numbers.
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Ten More, Ten Less Task Cards
A set of 24 task cards to enable students to practise identifying ten more and ten less than a number.
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Prime and Composite Numbers Poster
A poster to help students learn the vocabulary associated with prime and composite numbers.
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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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Identifying Odd Numbers Worksheet
A fun activity to help your students to identify odd numbers.
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Hundreds Board
A hundreds chart that can be used for a variety of activities.
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Pattern Activity Cards - Sport
Pattern activities using sport related pictures.
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Pattern Activity Cards - Pencils
Pattern activities using coloured pencils.
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Pattern Activity Cards - Little Red Hen
Pattern activities using pictures from The Little Red Hen.
- 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