Number Patterns Worksheets for 3rd Grade: Find the Rule

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Grade 3MathCounting & Number SenseCCSS 3.OA.D.9

Skill: Finding and continuing add and subtract number patterns

Preview of the Number Patterns: Find the Rule printable worksheet
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Teaching tips and what to try next

Works for third graders who add and subtract within 100 quickly and can skip count by several numbers. Asking your child to invent a pattern for you to solve, then checking your answer together, turns the rule into something they own. For steady skip counting, try Skip Counting by 6s, 7s and 8s, and for two related patterns, look at Numerical Patterns and Ordered Pairs.

10 versions, each with its own answer key

Same skill and layout, a fresh set of problems in every version, so children can keep practicing without repeating a page. Problems are not repeated between versions unless a skill has only a small number of possible problems (for example, the addition facts within 10).

Download all 10 versions (one PDF)All 10 answer keys (PDF)

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About this worksheet

Spotting a pattern in a list of numbers is a key part of thinking like a mathematician. In third grade, children look for the rule that connects one number to the next and then use it to fill in the rest. This third-grade worksheet gives ten number patterns to finish, each with a rule to find and write.

Each row shows six numbers. In some rows the numbers go up by the same amount each time, and in others they go down by the same amount. The step is a number from 2 to 12. Two boxes in each row are empty, and children write the missing numbers. Then they write the rule on the line at the end of the row, such as add 6 or subtract 4. Each of the ten versions has new patterns and its own answer key.

How to use it: before the worksheet, make up a short pattern together, such as 5, 8, 11, 14, and ask what happens each time. Show your child how to find the rule by subtracting two numbers that sit next to each other. When a blank comes before a known number, children can work backward by doing the opposite of the rule. Watch for rules written as just a number, and remind your child to say whether the pattern adds or subtracts.

The answer key shows every missing number and rule. For counting patterns with bigger steps, try our Skip Counting by 2s, 3s and 4s worksheet. For patterns with two rules at once, try our Numerical Patterns and Ordered Pairs worksheet.