Max Maths, Year 1, Learn together, Order and patterns

In the 'Max Maths, Year 1, Learn together, Order and patterns' section, students are introduced to numerical patterns through a bead sequence activity. For question 2(a), the pattern presented is a sequence of numbers where each number is repeated once before moving to the next consecutive number. The sequence given is 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, followed by a question mark, indicating the missing number, and then the number 5. Students are prompted to identify the number that comes next in the pattern. The hint provided is that "5 beads is one more than 4 beads", helping students to understand that the pattern increases by one and repeats. Therefore, the number that comes next in the pattern is 5, completing the sequence before moving on to the number 5 that follows.

In question 2(b), a similar pattern is presented but in reverse order, where each number is repeated once before decreasing to the previous consecutive number. The sequence is 6, 6, 5, 5, 4, 4, followed by a question mark, and then the number 3. Students must determine the number that comes next in the pattern. The clue given is that "3 beads is one less than 4 beads", which guides students to see that the pattern decreases by one and repeats. Thus, the missing number in the sequence is 3, leading to the number 3 that is already shown. These exercises help children to recognize and continue simple number patterns, an essential skill in early mathematics.