Unit Plan 14 (PreK Math): Pattern Play

Focus: Explore AB/ABC repeating patterns with colors, shapes, sounds, and movements; children copy, extend, and create patterns and begin to talk about the unit of repeat.

Grade Level: PreK

Subject Area: Mathematics (Early Algebraic Thinking)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 20–30 minutes per session

I. Introduction

Children play with repeating patterns in many modalities—linking cubes, shape tiles, instruments, and body movements. They practice copying a model, extending “what comes next,” and creating their own AB and ABC patterns, noticing the unit of repeat.

Essential Questions

• What is a pattern, and how do I know what comes next?
• What is the same each time in a pattern (the unit of repeat)?
• How can I show the same pattern using different tools (colors → sounds → movements)?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Copy a simple AB pattern (e.g., red–blue–red–blue) with concrete materials.
2. Extend a shown AB or ABC pattern by adding what comes next.
3. Create their own AB/ABC patterns and name the unit of repeat.
4. Translate a pattern across modalities (e.g., colors → claps/taps → movements).

Standards Alignment — Custom CCSS-style Pre-Kindergarten

• PK.OA.6 — Pattern play (copy, extend, create). Works with AB/ABC patterns using colors/shapes/sounds. Example: Claps “tap–tap–clap, tap–tap–clap.” (Aligns to: supports K.MD.3 & K.G practices—pattern sense)
• (Supportive) MP.8 — Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning; MP.1, MP.4, MP.5, MP.6 threaded (perseverance, modeling, tool choice, precision).

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can copy an AB pattern and keep it going.
• I can say and show the unit of repeat in my pattern.
• I can make my own AB/ABC pattern and tell what comes next.
• I can show the same pattern with different tools (colors, sounds, movements).