Patterning and Literacy at the Outset of Kindergarten

Kindergarten children are routinely instructed in recognizing repeating patterns. Such instruction may improve their understanding of prealgebra and early literacy. The present research was designed to determine whether there were relations between children’s understanding of patterns and early literacy at the outset of kindergarten, before instruction in recognizing patterns was begun. Accordingly, 492 kindergarten children were assessed with a patterning measure and two measures of early literacy. Significant correlations between scores on these three measures indicate that about 12-16% of a beginning kindergartner’s ability in literacy can be predicted from their understanding of patterns.