Color Patterns

A color pattern is a set of colors that repeats over and over in the same order. Once you know the small group of colors that repeats, called the pattern core, you can guess what color comes next without anyone telling you. This is one of the very first ways young learners begin thinking about rules and order in math.

Color patterns are closely related to shape patterns and size patterns. All three ask the same question: what small group of things repeats, and what comes next?

The pattern core is the shortest chunk of colors that repeats. To find it, look at the very beginning of the row of colors and find the point where the colors start repeating themselves. That first chunk, before it repeats, is the core.

For example, in a row that goes red, blue, red, blue, red, blue, the core is just "red, blue." That two-color group keeps repeating, so this is called an AB pattern, where A stands for the first color and B stands for the second color.

Because the core repeats in twos, you can predict that the very next circle after blue will be red again, and the one after that will be blue, and so on forever.

Not every color pattern uses just two colors. Some patterns repeat a group of three colors, or even repeat one color twice before switching. Two common three-part patterns are ABB patterns and ABC patterns.

An ABB pattern repeats one color, then a second color twice in a row, such as yellow, green, green, yellow, green, green. An ABC pattern uses three different colors in order, such as yellow, green, purple, yellow, green, purple.

Notice that no matter how many colors are in the core, the rule stays the same: find the small group that repeats, then repeat it again to continue the pattern.

To predict the next color, count how many colors are in the core, then figure out where the next spot falls inside that core. For an AB pattern, colors alternate every single spot. For an ABB or ABC pattern, you need to keep track of three spots at a time before the core starts over.

A helpful trick is to say the colors out loud while pointing to each one: "red, blue, red, blue," and then pause right before the next spot to decide which color belongs there. This is the same strategy used when you complete a pattern that has a missing piece in the middle instead of at the end.

Look at this row of colored shapes: red, red, blue, red, red, blue, red, red. What color comes next?

First, find the core. The colors "red, red, blue" repeat, so this is an ABB pattern where A is red and B is blue. The row already shows two full cores (red, red, blue, red, red, blue) plus two extra colors (red, red). Since the pattern always follows two reds with one blue, the next color must be blue.

When working through a color pattern worksheet, try these steps every time:

1. Say each color out loud from left to right.

2. Circle or point to the smallest group of colors that repeats.

3. Label the core using letters like A, B, or C.

4. Use the labels to figure out what color comes next.

5. Check your answer by reading the whole pattern again from the start.

These same steps work whether the pattern uses colors, shapes, or sizes, which is why practicing color patterns builds a strong foundation before moving on to trickier patterns, including growing patterns, where the pattern changes instead of repeating exactly.

Related lessons

• Kindergarten