Prediction Games
You have done some serious learning about predictions — clues, patterns, examples, confidence, and where predictions live in the world. Now it is time to play! This lesson is packed with prediction puzzles and challenges. Work through them and see just how good a predictor you have become.
Round 1: What Comes Next?
In each puzzle below, look for the pattern and predict what comes next. Take your time — look for the rule before you guess. Puzzle 1: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday... what comes next? Puzzle 2: 10, 20, 30, 40... what comes next? Puzzle 3: cold, hot, cold, hot, cold... what comes next? Puzzle 4: Emma always brings her lunch on days she has soccer practice. Today she has soccer practice. What can you predict? Puzzle 5: A cloud starts small, grows bigger and darker, then usually... what happens? Answers: Friday. 50. Hot. Emma brings her lunch. Rain (or a storm).
Each puzzle had a pattern hiding inside it. Spotting the pattern let you predict the answer. The more you practice, the faster your brain gets at finding patterns — just like a machine that has seen more examples!
Round 2: Rate the Confidence
For each prediction below, decide how confident you would be: Very Confident, Somewhat Confident, or Not Very Confident. Then explain why. 1. The sun will rise tomorrow morning. 2. Your favorite team will win their next game. 3. It will snow in the middle of summer. 4. If you drop a ball, it will fall down. 5. Your friend who loves cats will like a new cat video. There are no single right answers here — think about the clues and discuss your reasoning!
Flashcards — click each card to reveal the answer
You see: triangle, circle, triangle, circle, triangle. What comes next?
Marcus always eats apples as his snack. Today you see him reach into his bag at snack time. What can you predict?
A machine is 49% confident the photo is a cat and 51% confident it is a dog. How should you treat this prediction?
Prediction Tournament
- Play a prediction game with two or more people.
- One person is the Clue Giver. The others are Predictors.
- The Clue Giver picks a secret answer (a noun — like 'dog,' 'rainy day,' or 'sandwich') and gives one clue at a time.
- After each clue, each Predictor writes down their best prediction AND their confidence: high, medium, or low.
- Keep giving clues until someone guesses correctly.
- Talk about: did confidence go up as more clues appeared? Who used the clues best?
- Switch roles and play again — everyone gets a turn as Clue Giver.