Skip-Counting and Number Patterns
Skip-counting is the bridge between counting and multiplication. Counting by 5s is repeated addition of 5 and builds the 5-times table without naming it. The hundred chart is the visual partner: coloured landing squares reveal structural patterns (multiples of 2 form a checkerboard; multiples of 5 form columns) that students revisit in multiplication. Noticing these patterns is the beginning of algebraic thinking about number structure.
Skip-counting as repeated addition
Counting by 2s: 2, 4, 6, 8. Each step adds 2. This is the 2-times table in action. Linking cubes arranged in equal groups of 2 (or 5 or 10) make the equal-groups structure concrete. Touch each group and say the running total. The connection between the physical groups and the spoken sequence is what students need to internalize.
The hundred chart as a pattern tool
The hundred chart makes the structure of our number system visible. Skip-counting by 2 creates a checkerboard. Counting by 5 highlights two columns (ending in 0 and 5). Counting by 10 highlights one column. These patterns anticipate place value, divisibility, and multiplication, all from a simple grid that students explore in Grade 1.
Patterns in equal groups
The BC curriculum connects numerical patterns to beading (counting beads in groups to maintain pattern regularity) and other equal-groups contexts from First Peoples practices. Wampum rows counted in groups, seeds arranged in equal sets, and patterned weaving all use skip-counting and equal-groups reasoning. This shows that mathematical pattern recognition is a universal human activity.