What Comes Next — Visual Pattern Practice (Grades K–3)
What comes next? Free visual pattern practice for kids in grades K–3 — read the rhythm of shapes and colors, then pick the tile that continues it.
Understanding what comes next
What comes next is the friendliest door into reasoning. You show a child a row that goes circle, square, circle, square, and ask what belongs in the empty spot. There are no words to read and no numbers to add, just a rhythm to hear with your eyes. Most five- and six-year-olds can do it, and doing it feels like a small, satisfying click.
Key Idea
On Mosaic Coast's first trail, every wall follows a single rule in two colors: rows that take turns, columns that take turns, or a checkerboard. The wall is five tiles by five, so the rule is always findable. Your child looks at the wall, finds the one missing tile, and chooses what fills it from three choices (five, if a grown-up chooses).
The move that solves every one of these is to say the pattern out loud. Circle, square, circle, square, so the next one is a circle. Red, red, blue, red, red, blue, so the next one is red. Hearing the rhythm turns a guess into a reason, and that shift from guessing to reasoning is the whole point. Get one wrong and the game explains the rhythm instead of marking it wrong, so the next attempt is a fresh, calm try.
Seeing it in action
Worked example
A row reads circle, square, circle, square, then a blank tile — what fills it?
The row alternates two shapes in a steady beat: circle, square, circle, square. The rule is "circle, then square," repeating.
The last filled tile is a square, so the beat comes back around. The blank tile is a circle.
Try a few
red, red, blue, blue, red, red, … what comes next?
the beat is two reds then two blues, repeating.
triangle, circle, triangle, circle, … next?
two shapes taking turns.
yellow, blue, yellow, blue, … next?
a two-color checkerboard rhythm.
star, star, square, star, star, square, … next?
a three-tile beat starting over.
Ready to try it in Logica?
Practice what comes next in Logica, the free reasoning game in the Practice Lab: Mosaic Coast, trail 1, Two-color patterns. Six puzzles, no timer, no login, calm explanations.
Common questions
What comes next worksheets or Logica — which is better for a beginner?
For a first taste, use whichever your child will sit with. What comes next worksheets are great for quiet, offline rounds, and Mosaic Coast in Logica explains the rule, and can read it aloud, whenever a tile is missed. Many families use both, paper for repetition and Logica for the calm feedback.
Are there what comes next games for young kids, or is this practice?
It plays like a game — pick the tile, earn up to three stars per trail — but it is built as practice, not a race. There is no timer, so a child can study the rhythm as long as they like before choosing.
My child guesses instead of reasoning. How do I help?
Ask them to say the pattern aloud before they point. Naming it — circle, square, circle, square — turns the guess into a reason, and the right tile usually follows on its own.
Want a printable set too?
Get the free Reasonwell sample pack — printable reasoning and test-prep material.
Download All three Grade 2 workbook samples ↓22 pages · 1.9 MB · No email requiredText versions (screen-reader friendly): NGAT Grade 2 sample, CogAT Level 8 sample and OLSAT Level C sample