Can young children do algebra? This resource illustrates the links between algebraic thinking and patterns.

The environment constantly exposes young children to regularities of various types: in music, shirts, dance, shape, and spatial relations. Given these experiences, children ages three through six years old develop an intuitive understanding of pattern. 

Children are interested in order at an early age. When order has regularity (that is, size increases by a specific amount each time), the order becomes a pattern. This handout illustrates examples of this particular kind of pattern, called growing patterns.

Children can learn surprisingly sophisticated patterns related to the counting words. In this handout, Anna illustrates her understanding of the decades pattern in the English-language counting-word sequence.

Ever wonder what a pattern unit is and why it is important? Here’s your chance to find out!

A brief overview of the development of patterns and algebraic thinking in young children. Children are born with the ability to detect patterns and our support in the classroom builds on this important skill.

More video resources related to the development of counting and how teachers can engage young children in counting

We describe some ways you might engage participants in these problem types to help them see the range of problems, how they might be easier or more difficult for young children, and how young children would solve them.

Considering how a young child would intuitively approach word problems helps us to explore the range of problem types within addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Getting started with solving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems begins by asking teachers to rethink their existing ideas of teaching the operations and providing opportunities for teachers to see that children can solve problems without being taught the symbols, number facts, or number sentences.