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Making repeating patterns

Create border and block patterns by repeating shapes and colours, and find the part that repeats.

Get the whole book: Drawing and craft for classes 3 to 5 (5 lessons, free to print)

Let us begin

The big idea

Patterns are everywhere: on a sari border, a tiled floor and a zebra. A pattern is something that repeats again and again. Let us learn to make our own.

A pattern repeats in the same order. If we draw a circle, a square, a circle, a square, the pattern is circle then square. The part that repeats is called the unit.

We can make a pattern with shapes, colours, sizes or lines. A red, blue, red, blue border is a colour pattern. Big, small, big, small is a size pattern.

A pattern can have a longer unit. For example, red, red, blue repeats as red, red, blue, red, red, blue. The unit has three parts.

To find the next part of a pattern, find the unit and then continue it. A border pattern repeats along a line. A block pattern repeats across the whole page like a tile design.

A border patternA row of alternating squares and circles with a bracket showing the unit that repeats: a square then a circle. Unit Square, circle, square, circle... The unit repeats to make the pattern.
The unit repeats again and again to make the pattern.

Worked examples

See how it works

  1. A shape pattern

    Triangle, circle, triangle, circle, triangle, circle. The unit is triangle then circle. After the last circle, the next shape is a triangle.

  2. A colour pattern

    Red, red, blue, red, red, blue, red, red. The unit is red, red, blue. The next colour is blue.

  3. A growing pattern

    Draw 1 dot, then 2 dots, then 3 dots, then 4 dots. The pattern grows by one dot each time. The next group has 5 dots.

Try it at home

My border pattern

You will need

  • A strip of paper
  • A ruler
  • Crayons or colour pencils

What to do

  1. Draw a straight line along the middle of the strip with a ruler.
  2. Pick two shapes and two colours, for example a red triangle and a blue circle.
  3. Draw the first unit at the left end.
  4. Repeat the unit all the way to the right end of the strip.
  5. Show your pattern and ask someone to tell you the unit and the next shape.

Ask a grown-up: An adult can look for patterns with you on clothes, floors and curtains at home.

Practice sheet

Check what you learned

Write your answers in a notebook, or print this sheet and write on it. When you finish, mark your work with the answer key.

Practice sheet: Making repeating patterns (Classes 3-5, Drawing and craft)

  1. What is a pattern?
  2. What do we call the part that repeats?
  3. Circle, square, circle, square. What comes next?
  4. Red, red, blue, red, red, blue, red. What colour comes next?
  5. Big, small, big, small, big. What comes next?
  6. What is the unit of: triangle, circle, circle, triangle, circle, circle?
  7. Name one place where you see a pattern at home.
  8. A pattern grows: 1 dot, 2 dots, 3 dots. How many dots come next?
  9. Can a pattern be made with colours only?
  10. Make your own pattern with three parts, and name the unit.

Answer key

Answers: Making repeating patterns

Do the practice sheet first, then check here. If an answer is different from yours, read the lesson again and try once more.

  1. Something that repeats again and again in the same order.
  2. The unit.
  3. Circle.
  4. Red.
  5. Small.
  6. Triangle, circle, circle.
  7. Sample answers: a curtain, a floor tile, a sari border, a blanket.
  8. 4 dots.
  9. Yes, for example red, blue, red, blue.
  10. Sample answer: star, moon, moon, star, moon, moon. The unit is star, moon, moon.

What next

Keep learning

Get the whole book

All 5 drawing and craft lessons for classes 3 to 5 on one page, with every practice sheet and answer key, ready to print.

Drawing and craft for classes 3 to 5

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