What comes next?

Say the pattern out loud and your mouth finds the answer before your head does.

The question

Red, blue, red, blue, red, … what comes next?

The trick

Say the pattern out loud in a rhythm. The rhythm carries you into the next item without any thinking at all.

Worked example

1Say it aloud: red, blue, red, blue, red…
2Do not stop — let your voice keep the rhythm going.
3The next word out of your mouth is blue. That is the answer.

So: Blue

Remember it like this

Patterns are songs. If you can sing it, you can finish it.

In the exam

Make patterns with real objects — spoons and forks, red and green chillies, big and small stones. Let your child build one for *you* to finish. Being the teacher is when they understand it best.

Why it works

Pattern recognition is the root of algebra, and it develops through rhythm long before it develops through reasoning. Saying it aloud uses the ear, which is far ahead of the reasoning at this age.

Explain this to my childGet the words to teach it, in your language

Try it yourself

0/3 correct

1
1, 2, 1, 2, 1, ? (number only)
1, 2, 1, 2, 1, ? (number only)
2
Big, small, big, small, big, ?
3
2, 4, 6, 8, ? (number only)
2, 4, 6, 8, ? (number only)