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For younger learners

  • Early Years Foundation Stage

Number Patterns

Number Patterns

The activities in this collection encourage children to create, recognise, extend and explain number patterns. Read the article for more information and to find out why these particular tasks have been selected.

Pattern Sniffing 
Age 5 to 11

This article for primary teachers outlines how we can encourage children to create, identify, extend and explain number patterns and why being able to do so is useful.

Domino Patterns 
Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level Yellow star

What patterns can you make with a set of dominoes?

Ring a Ring of Numbers 
Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star

Choose four of the numbers from 1 to 9 to put in the squares so that the differences between joined squares are odd.

Lots of Lollies 
Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star

Frances and Rishi were given a bag of lollies. They shared them out evenly and had one left over. How many lollies could there have been in the bag?

Domino Sets 
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow star

How do you know if your set of dominoes is complete?

Consecutive Numbers 
Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level Yellow star

An investigation involving adding and subtracting sets of consecutive numbers. Lots to find out, lots to explore.

Times Tables Shifts 
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow star

In this activity, the computer chooses a times table and shifts it. Can you work out the table and the shift each time?

Related

  • More Number Patterns Lower Primary
  • More Number Patterns Upper Primary
  • Digital Roots
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The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice.

NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.

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