Eight pages on finding the rule of a number pattern, each set out as six detective cases. In cases 1 and 2 students circle the rule from three choices. In cases 3 and 4 they circle the operation and write its number. In cases 5 and 6 they write the rule and explain how they know. The pages get harder: pages 1 and 2 stay within 100 with small steps, pages 3 to 6 are on grade level with patterns that add, subtract, multiply, and divide, and pages 7 and 8 use numbers in the hundreds and thousands. Case 1 on pages 1, 3, and 7 is a worked example.
Use the three levels to give each group a page that fits: pages 1 and 2 for students who need support, pages 3 to 6 for most of the class, and pages 7 and 8 as a challenge. Work the example case together first, then read the detective tip aloud: the rule must work for every jump, not only the first one.
Start with page 1 or page 3 and talk through the worked example together. When your child finds a rule, ask them to test it on every jump in the pattern before they write it down.
This pack supports the following Common Core State Standards for Mathematics:
© Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.
An 8-page number pattern pack for 3rd grade. Each page has six cases: study a number pattern, then circle the rule, name the operation and its number, or write the rule and explain it. Patterns add, subtract, multiply, and divide, on three levels of difficulty. Every page comes in color and in black and white. Answer keys included.
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