Number patterns – Grade 4 math lesson

Lesson 5 of 26 in the Grade 4 math course

US version. US grades, US spelling and dollars ($). · UK Maths Department

A complete 45-minute lesson for grade 4 (ages 9–10) that runs on this page – at school or at home. Every answer is graded right away, with a worked explanation.

Time: 45 minutes + 20 min homework
Grade: Grade 4 (ages 9–10)
You need: Paper, a pencil and this page
Graded: Instantly, with explanations

For parents: how to use this lesson

You don't need to know this topic yourself. The lesson explains each step on screen, one tidy step at a time. Every answer is graded straight away with a worked explanation, so you never have to grade anything.

Read what your child will learn and the big ideas together.
Press Start the lesson below and sit with your child for the teaching and the worked examples (about 19 minutes).
Let them do the practice on their own. They choose Getting started, On track or Challenge – start on On track and move up after a few right in a row.
Finish with the exit ticket and the talk question: “Can two different rules give the same first three terms?”
Later that day or the next day: the homework (20 minutes), then a practice test.

Watch out for

Only checking the first two terms. Check the rule works for every pair of terms.
Assuming every sequence adds the same amount. Look at differences and also try multiplying.

Tip for home: Spot number patterns on house numbers, calendars or in multiplication facts.

What your child will learn

Learning goal: continue number sequences and describe the rule.

Success looks like

I can find the next terms.
I can describe the rule.
I can find a missing term.

Key words

sequence: numbers in order following a rule
term: one number in a sequence
rule: how the sequence changes
difference: the gap between terms

What to have ready

Paper and a pencil
This page on a computer, tablet or phone
For the hands-on part: Build a growing pattern with matchsticks or cubes, count each step and look for the rule.

The big ideas (for the adult)

A sequence is a list of numbers that follows a rule. The term-to-term rule says how to get from one number to the next.

Find the rule by working out the difference between terms that are next to each other.

Some rules use multiplying, or follow a pattern you can describe in words, such as "add 2 more each time".

The lesson, step by step

45 minutes in 5 parts
Part	Time	How it is checked
Starter: quick recall	5 min	Graded by Classfern
Teaching input	10 min	Not assessed, self-checked
Worked examples and guided practice	9 min	Not assessed, graded by Classfern
Independent practice	15 min	Graded by Classfern
Closure and exit ticket	6 min	Graded by Classfern, self-checked

Starter, "your turn", practice and exit ticket are graded by Classfern. Worked examples and teaching are not assessed. The hands-on task and the reflection are self-assessed. Explanations in talk are judged by the parent and not recorded.

The lesson

It runs here on the page. No sign-up and no names – progress is kept only in this browser.

Homework and practice at home

20 minutes: 10 practice questions, 3 multiple-choice questions and 2 to remember from earlier work, then a short reflection. New questions every time, all graded instantly.

More practice

4th grade math practice test: Operations & Algebraic ThinkingGraded instantly

All Grade 4 math lessons and tests · Math Department

Curriculum

Common Core State Standards 4.OA.C.5: “Generate a number or shape pattern that follows a given rule. Identify apparent features of the pattern that were not explicit in the rule itself. For example, given the rule "Add 3" and the starting number 1, generate terms in the resulting sequence and observe that the terms appear to alternate between odd and even numbers. Explain informally why the numbers will continue to alternate in this way.”

Our lessons and questions are our own. They are not written or endorsed by any government department, testing agency or exam board.