Mathematically proficient students look closely to discern a pattern or structure

Look for and make use of structure.

Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

In the early grades, students notice repetitive actions in counting and computation, etc. For example, they may notice that the next number in a counting sequence is one more. When counting by tens, the next number in the sequence is “ten more” (or one more group of ten). In addition, students continually check their work by asking themselves, “Does this make sense?”

Younger students begin to discern a pattern or structure. For instance, students recognize the pattern that exists in the teen numbers; every teen number is written with a 1 (representing one ten) and ends with the digit that is first stated. They also recognize that 3 + 2 = 5 and 2 + 3 = 5.

Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

Look for and make use of structure.