SIMCC Games · Teacher guide
Pattern Recognition
Spot the rule in a sequence and find what comes next.
- Trains
- Number sequences and their rules · Times tables, squares and primes · Explaining a rule in words
- Ages
- 8 and up
- In class
- On your own. One device each. Choose First steps: four teaching cards. Then Starter, which shows four choices.
A ten-minute starter
- Show about 2 minWrite 4, 7, 10, 13, ? on the board. Ask what changes each time and what comes next.
- Play about 6 minStudents choose First steps, then move on to Starter cards. Fast finishers try Builder.
- Talk about 2 minAsk students to say a rule in words, such as "add 3 each time" or "the 4 times table".
Questions to ask the class
- 4, 7, 10, 13. What comes next?Listen for: 16: add 3 each time.
- 1, 4, 9, 16. What comes next?Listen for: 25: the square numbers.
- How do you check a rule?Listen for: Test it on every step, not only the first two numbers.
A common mistake
Using only the first two numbers to find the rule, and missing a rule that grows.
How to help: Ask them to write the change between every pair of numbers. The first hint points at how much the numbers change each time.
Assign it
On the coach dashboard, choose your class under Cohorts. In Assign practice, pick Pattern Recognition and the drill First steps or Find the rule, add a due date if you want one, then press Assign. Students find it on their Train page.
Set First steps for a new class, then Find the rule.
Results show on the dashboard by student and by game once the server has checked them.