Handout: Pattern Detective Agency
Your mission is to crack the code behind these patterns!
Case #1: The Growing Shapes
1. Draw the next two shapes in the pattern.
2. How many triangles will be in the 6th shape? _________
3. What is the rule for this pattern? _________________________
Case #2: The Skipping Numbers
1. What are the next two numbers in the sequence?
2. What is the rule for this pattern? _________________________
Case #3: The Mirrored Pattern
1. What are the next three numbers in this sequence?
2. Describe the pattern in your own words. _________________________
Extra Challenge: The Two-Step
Can you figure out the two-step rule and find the next number?
Rule: _________________________
Curriculum alignment
- Measurement — Practices: - Using formulae to find unknown measurements related to perimeter (e.g. the length of the unknown sides of a square given its perimeter, the length of an unknown side in a co…
- Number — Practices: - Locating negative and positive numbers on a number line - Comparing and ordering negative and positive numbers using a number line (e.g. −3.4 < −3) - Evaluating expressions …
- Measurement — Practices: - Locating negative and positive numbers on a number line - Comparing and ordering negative and positive numbers using a number line (e.g. −3.4 < −3) - Evaluating expressions …
- Statistics — Practices: - Locating negative and positive numbers on a number line - Comparing and ordering negative and positive numbers using a number line (e.g. −3.4 < −3) - Evaluating expressions …
- Algebra — Practices: - Locating negative and positive numbers on a number line - Comparing and ordering negative and positive numbers using a number line (e.g. −3.4 < −3) - Evaluating expressions …
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will develop algebraic thinking and pattern recognition (tātai tauira) through te ao Māori contexts, connecting mathematical reasoning to cultural and real-world problem-solving in Aotearoa.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can identify, describe, and extend patterns using algebraic notation.
- ✅ Students can explain their mathematical reasoning and connect it to real-world contexts.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide concrete materials and visual representations before moving to abstract notation. Offer entry-level tasks using number patterns, and extension challenges involving proof or generalisation for capable learners.
ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach key mathematical vocabulary (variable, expression, equation, pattern). Allow diagrams and tables as alternate representations. Bilingual glossaries recommended.
Inclusion: Neurodiverse learners benefit from structured step-by-step templates and multiple representations (visual, numeric, algebraic). Avoid time pressure on procedural tasks.
Tātai (to reckon, count, calculate) reflects the deep mathematical tradition within te ao Māori — from whakapapa genealogy structures to wharenui proportional geometry, navigation, and seasonal calendars. Mātauranga Māori holds rich pattern-based thinking: tukutuku panel sequences, kōwhaiwhai scroll patterns, and fishing seasonal cycles all encode algebraic relationships. Algebra taught through these lenses makes abstract thinking visible and culturally grounded.