AI Champs Lab · Teacher guide · Unit 1 Patterns · Mode 1 of 3

Spot the Pattern

Time: 35 minutes · Tracks: Explorers, Builders, Makers · Kit: version 1.2, 12 October 2026

Goal

Students find repeating patterns, explain the rule behind them, and see that a computer can learn a rule from examples. This is the idea behind AI: a system is shown many labelled examples and works out the rule itself.

Materials

Cards 1 to 12 (pages 2 and 3). Print single-sided on A4.
Worksheet "Teach the Robot" (page 4).
Exit ticket (page 5). Answer key is on page 6, teacher only.
Pencils, sticky notes, one bag per table.

Steps

Clap warm-up (5 min). Clap three claps and one pause. Ask the class to continue. Ask: "How did you know what came next?"
Card sort (10 min). In pairs, sort cards 1 to 12 into "has a pattern" and "no pattern". Each pair says the rule for one card aloud before placing it.
Pattern hunt (10 min). Each pair finds three patterns in the room. Write each on a sticky note with its rule.
Teach the Robot (10 min). Use page 4. The robot has learned from the first four examples. Students predict labels for examples five and six, then check the answers.
Exit ticket (5 min). Students answer page 5 on their own.

Questions to ask

What is the smallest piece that repeats? How do you know where it starts?
Can you find a pattern that breaks halfway? What happens to your rule?
If a computer only saw three examples, would it be sure? Why or why not?
Where do patterns appear in an app you use every day?

Common mistakes

Students describe ("red, blue, red") instead of giving a rule ("red then blue, repeated"). Ask: "What comes after the last card?"
Students treat one surprising card as a new pattern. Ask them to test the rule against every card.
Students think the robot knows the answer. It only found a rule from the examples it was given.

Link to the next lessons

Practical mission: Pattern Journal, Pattern Detective Report, or Hand-Built Pattern Classifier (rubric v1.0 and v1.1, in the web app). Coding lesson: Repeat a Pattern, in blocks or Python.

AI CHAMPS LAB · UNIT 1 PATTERNS · v1.2 · © GEOINFORTRAK INTERNATIONALPAGE 1 OF 6

Cards 1 to 6 · Cut along the border

CARD 01

● ■ ● ■ ● ■

PATTERN?

CARD 02

▲ ▲ ● ▲ ▲ ●

PATTERN?

CARD 03

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

PATTERN?

CARD 04

♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

PATTERN?

CARD 05

↑ ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ ↓

PATTERN?

CARD 06

A B B A B B

PATTERN?

AI CHAMPS LAB · UNIT 1 PATTERNS · v1.2 · © GEOINFORTRAK INTERNATIONALPAGE 2 OF 6

Cards 7 to 12 · Cut along the border

CARD 07

● ■ ▲ ◆ ★

PATTERN?

CARD 08

2 4 7 11 16

PATTERN?

CARD 09

R B G Y P O

PATTERN?

CARD 10

1 1 2 3 5 8

PATTERN?

CARD 11

▲ ● ● ▲ ● ●

PATTERN?

CARD 12

X O X X O O X

PATTERN?

Worksheet · Teach the Robot

Teach the Robot

The robot has learned from examples 1 to 4. Look at each example and tick whether the robot should label it "pattern" or "no pattern". Then write the rule you think the robot used.

No.	Sequence	Label (given)	Your prediction
1	● ■ ● ■	Pattern	—
2	▲ ● ■ ◆	No pattern	—
3	1 2 1 2 1 2	Pattern	—
4	3 5 9 17	No pattern	—
5	★ ★ ◆ ★ ★ ◆	Hidden	Pattern No pattern
6	R G B R G G	Hidden	Pattern No pattern

The rule the robot used

Write it in one sentence:

Check your answers with the teacher

Were examples 5 and 6 harder? Why? What would you need to see to be sure of the rule?

Exit ticket · Name ____________________ · Date __________

Exit ticket

1. What is the smallest piece that repeats in ● ■ ● ■ ● ■?

2. Name one pattern in your day. Write its rule.

3. The robot saw three examples. Why might it be wrong about a new one?

Teacher only · Answer key

Answer key

Card	Label	Smallest repeating piece, or why there is none
01	Pattern	● ■ (repeats)
02	Pattern	▲ ▲ ● (repeats)
03	Pattern	1 2 3 (repeats)
04	Pattern	♪ ♫ (repeats)
05	Pattern	↑ ↓ (repeats)
06	Pattern	A B B (repeats)
07	No pattern	No block repeats.
08	No pattern	Gaps grow (+2, +3, +4, +5). There is a rule, but no repeating block.
09	No pattern	No block repeats.
10	No pattern	Each number is the sum of the two before. A rule, but not a repeat. Good for discussion.
11	Pattern	▲ ● ● (repeats)
12	No pattern	No block repeats.

Worksheet key

Examples 1 to 3: pattern (repeat of ● ■, 1 2, and the first two items). Example 4: no pattern. Example 5: pattern, ★ ★ ◆. Example 6: no pattern.

Card 10 is a useful discussion point: students may say "pattern" because the numbers follow a rule. Ask them to separate a rule that repeats from a rule that grows.