One icon, two different partners
ABAC introduces a genuinely tricky new idea: the same icon (A) appears twice within the unit, but each time it's paired with a completely different partner — first B, then C. Unlike every repeat-based pattern before it, the repeated icon here doesn't sit next to itself; it's separated, with a different icon each time in between.
A child has to track that A keeps returning at specific positions (first and third) while B and C each appear only once, which is a more demanding kind of position-tracking than anything in this site's earlier patterns.
A strategy for tracking a returning icon
Marking every appearance of the A icon specifically — pointing and saying "there's A again" each time it shows up — helps a child notice the returning icon's specific rhythm (every other position) separately from the two icons that each appear only once. Asking "which icon keeps coming back?" directs attention to exactly the feature that makes this pattern distinct.
Where this leads
This returning-icon idea extends further in ABACABA, which uses the same A-returns-between-different-partners structure across a much longer seven-icon unit. A child comfortable with ABAC has real preparation for that considerably longer pattern.
Every numbered worksheet uses a fresh set of icons testing this identical structure.
Using this worksheet effectively
Working through this pattern slowly, marking each appearance of the returning icon explicitly, builds the tracking habit before a child attempts it at speed. Every worksheet downloads as a free, print-ready PDF with no account required.