This repeating patterns worksheet uses circles, squares, and triangles in six sequences. Draw the next shape in the empty box at the right of each row. The patterns are based on repeating groups rather than changes in color, so the page works in grayscale.
Find the smallest repeating group
Read the shapes from left to right and look for a group that starts again. An alternating circle and square has a two-shape unit. Other rows repeat three or four positions, so choosing the next shape requires more than assuming that every pair alternates.
Say the sequence aloud
Use shape names while pointing to each position. Pause at the blank and continue the established unit. If drawing is a barrier to the pattern task, the learner can say or write the next shape’s name instead; the key below gives those names explicitly.
Explain why the shape comes next
A correct guess is less informative than identifying the repeat. Ask the learner to show where the unit begins again in the printed row. For a group with repeated circles or squares, count each position rather than treating adjacent identical shapes as one item.
Compare with the answer sheet
The separate key draws the final shape inside each answer box. The pale fill distinguishes the supplied answer from the original sequence while keeping the outline recognizable. Compare one row at a time and return to the repeating unit when an answer differs.
After completing a row, continue it orally for several more positions or invent another row on spare paper. State the rule being used so an open-ended extension is not confused with the printed task. These six exercises ask for the next shape under the repeating-group rule given in the instructions.
Next-shape answers
- Circle.
- Triangle.
- Square.
- Square.
- Triangle.
- Square.
Download and print
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