# Day 37 — Two alike, then one different

**25 minutes · AC9MFA01 (recognise, copy and continue an AAB repeating pattern); partial practice · educator review pending**

**Success:** The child finds a three-position unit such as leaf–leaf–pot and continues the same pattern without switching to AB.

**Prepare per pair:** at least six leaf picture cards and three pot cards, plus six star and three moon cards for the fresh try, or equivalent tangible shapes; pattern strip and [P4/P5 cards](print-aids.md). Draw these simple marks locally; no outside artwork is needed.

1. **Retrieve, 3 min.** Copy yesterday's book–block pattern for four positions. Ask what repeated, then say today's repeating part may be longer.
2. **Model, 6 min.** Lay leaf, leaf, pot, leaf, leaf, pot. Say, “I see one whole part: leaf, leaf, pot. Here it is again. After the pot, the part begins again with leaf, then leaf, then pot.” Move a bracket under each three-card unit.
3. **Guided game, 9 min.** Partners copy and continue leaf–leaf–pot, circle–circle–square or paper–paper–box. One builds six; the other shows the unit and adds three, then swap. Make the repeated object/mark distinguishable by shape and position, not just colour.
4. **Fresh try, 4 min.** Display star, star, moon, star, star, moon. “Point to the part that repeats. Put the next three.” Let the child move cards before speaking.
5. **Check, 3 min.** Hide the second unit and ask the child to rebuild it from the first. **Key:** unit star–star–moon; next star, star, moon. Leaf–leaf–pot likewise repeats as leaf, leaf, pot.

**If the child gives star, moon, star by alternating:** Put a boundary after every third card, then read both complete three-card parts. If only two positions are correct, ask for the first position of the next unit before adding all three.

**Access and record:** Provide tactile shapes, large images or plain-text words; a partner can place cards exactly as directed. Speech, sign, AAC, gaze or arrangement can identify the unit. Record copy, unit and continuation separately.