I find myself working a lot with my daughter on math facts now that she understands the concept of addition. There are so many tricks and strategies that students are taught. It can be hard to prioritize what to master first. One set of facts that we have been working on are different ways to make ten. This essentially is all of the number pairs that equal ten (9+1, 6+4, 2+8, etc.). The facts that equal 10 are helpful with mental math and lay the groundwork for fact fluency. There are many great ways to practice this concept aside from typical paper-pencil practice. Let’s take a look at some different ways you can reinforce this skill at home.
Game 1
To prepare for this activity, all you need is a piece of large paper and a set of sticky notes. Draw a circle on the piece of paper and make two sets of 0-10 numerals on sticky notes. If you have colored sticky notes, it may be helpful to put different numbers on different colors. Tape your piece of paper on the wall and you are ready to go!
Have your child match two numbers together that equal ten and put them on the circle. Keep putting the number pairs together until you have used all of the sticky notes!
Game 2
For this fine motor/math activity, you will need a large bin, foam or magnetic numbers, rice, and some tweezers/tongs. Fill the bin with rice (colored rice is a great option) and dump in the numbers.
Have your child use the tongs to pick out a number. Once he/she figures out what number friend is needed to make ten, they can search for the number in the rice bin to make a pair.
Game 3
Here is another great fine motor activity for this standard! Cut an egg carton so it has two rows of five. Set aside different colored pom-poms for your child to use. Have your child roll a die and put the number of pom-poms in the egg carton with some tweezers. (Help your child put similar colored pom-poms together.) Your child will then determine the missing number to equal ten and use different pom-poms to complete the set. If you wish, you can pair this activity with a recording sheet to practice writing each addition problem.
We would love to hear from you! What other games/activities have you tried with your child to create ten?
