The students were asked to record the addresses of each houses along 59th Avenue, starting from Ross Street and heading west towards Prince Albert Street in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

After recording the addresses of 3 houses, many students noticed the numbers going bacward.  As the students continued recording the house numbers, they began to notice a pattern.  All the house numbers began with the number 10.

When the students crossed Windsor Street, a few students noticed the change in the first number. The first number went from 10 to 9.  I asked them why the number changed.

Some students responded that the numbers are still getting smaller. After a long pause, one student responded, “It’s because of the road.”  This particular student was, of course, referring to Windsor Street.  To confirm his conclusion, the student went all the way to the next block and recorded the house number across the street.

Not only, did these six year olds notice patterns in the house addresses, they also learned to read and record 4 digit numbers, as well as counting backward.