Addition within 20Activities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning helps students move beyond rote counting to flexible strategies like make-ten, which builds speed and confidence in addition within 20. Hands-on experiences with visual tools let students see number relationships, turning abstract ideas into concrete understanding that lasts beyond the lesson.
Learning Objectives
- 1Calculate the sum of two single-digit numbers and a teen number, with sums up to 20, using the make-ten strategy.
- 2Explain how decomposing numbers into parts helps in adding numbers greater than 10.
- 3Demonstrate the make-ten strategy by visually representing addition problems with ten-frames or number bonds.
- 4Compare the results of adding single-digit numbers to teen numbers using different strategies, such as counting on or using number bonds.
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Simulation Game: Make-Ten Pairs
Pair students and give each a set of number cards from 1 to 10. Players take turns drawing two cards and using counters to make ten, discarding pairs that work and drawing again if not. First to empty hand wins. Discuss strategies used after each round.
Prepare & details
How does the make-ten strategy help us add numbers beyond 10?
Facilitation Tip: During Make-Ten Pairs, circulate and ask students to verbalize their pairs, listening for strategy language like 'I took 1 from 6 to make 9 into 10.'
Setup: Flexible space for group stations
Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker
Hands-on: Ten-Frame Addition
Provide ten-frames and counters to small groups. Students build teen numbers first, then add single-digits by filling frames. Record sums on mini-whiteboards and check by removing counters. Rotate materials every 5 minutes.
Prepare & details
What happens when we add a single-digit number to a teen number?
Facilitation Tip: For Ten-Frame Addition, model placing counters while narrating the process, such as 'I see 8, so I add 2 more to fill the frame, leaving 4 extra.'
Setup: Tables/desks arranged in 4-6 distinct stations around room
Materials: Station instruction cards, Different materials per station, Rotation timer
Stations Rotation: Number Bond Hunt
Set up stations with dice, linking cubes, and bond cards. Roll dice, build bonds to 20, snap cubes into tens and ones. Write equations and verify with peers. Groups rotate stations.
Prepare & details
How can we check if our addition is correct?
Facilitation Tip: At the Number Bond Hunt station, provide sentence stems like 'I found 14 is made of ____ and ____, so 14 + 3 is ____.'
Setup: Tables/desks arranged in 4-6 distinct stations around room
Materials: Station instruction cards, Different materials per station, Rotation timer
Whole Class: Addition Bingo
Distribute bingo cards with sums to 20. Call out problems using make-ten; students mark answers. First bingo shares strategy. Review all problems as class.
Prepare & details
How does the make-ten strategy help us add numbers beyond 10?
Facilitation Tip: During Addition Bingo, pause after each call to ask, 'How did you know you needed a 6 there?' to uncover strategy use.
Setup: Tables/desks arranged in 4-6 distinct stations around room
Materials: Station instruction cards, Different materials per station, Rotation timer
Teaching This Topic
Teachers should model multiple strategies side by side, emphasizing that flexibility matters more than speed. Avoid rushing students past visual tools too quickly, as teens and ones need repeated exposure to stick. Research shows that pairing verbal explanations with visuals strengthens number sense and memory.
What to Expect
Students will use the make-ten strategy confidently, decompose numbers flexibly, and verify answers through inverse operations or objects. They will explain their thinking clearly and apply strategies to new problems with minimal support.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionDuring Make-Ten Pairs, watch for students who struggle to decompose numbers flexibly, relying only on counting all fingers from 1.
What to Teach Instead
Provide ten-frames and counters at the station. Guide students to physically move counters to form a full ten-frame first, then add the remainder, narrating each step to connect the action to the strategy.
Common MisconceptionDuring Ten-Frame Addition, watch for students who ignore the ten in teen numbers, treating 13 + 4 as 3 + 4 = 7.
What to Teach Instead
Have students build teen numbers with a full ten-frame and loose counters, then add the single-digit to the loose counters only. Ask, 'Where is your ten? How many are left to add?' to refocus their attention.
Common MisconceptionDuring Addition Bingo, watch for students who do not verify their answers, assuming correctness without checking.
What to Teach Instead
Introduce a 'check partner' rule: after each bingo call, students must swap boards with a partner to verify sums using inverse subtraction or counters. Circulate to listen for explanations like, 'I know 9 + 6 is 15 because 15 - 6 is 9.'
Assessment Ideas
After Make-Ten Pairs, provide an addition problem like 7 + 8. Ask students to write the make-ten steps on a slip of paper, such as '(7 + 3) + 5 = 15,' and include the final sum.
During Ten-Frame Addition, present a problem like 16 + 3 on the board. Ask students to show the first step of their make-ten strategy on mini whiteboards, such as '16 + 3 = (10 + 6) + 3' or '16 + 4 = 20, so 16 + 3 = 19'.
After the Number Bond Hunt, ask students, 'How is using a number bond to add 9 + 4 similar to using the make-ten strategy? How is it different?' Have them explain using examples from their hunt sheets or drawings.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge: Create a 'Make-Ten Challenge' worksheet with missing addends, such as 12 + ___ = 18, and ask students to write two different ways to solve each problem.
- Scaffolding: Provide base-ten blocks for students to physically group tens and ones when adding 13 + 4, then have them draw the model next to their written work.
- Deeper exploration: Introduce a 'Strategies Museum' where students create posters showing different methods (make-ten, doubles, counting on) and present them to the class.
Key Vocabulary
| Make-ten strategy | A method for adding numbers where you first make a ten from one of the numbers, then add the remaining amount. |
| Number bond | A visual representation showing how a whole number can be broken down into two or more parts. |
| Teen number | Any whole number from 11 to 19, which is composed of one ten and some additional ones. |
| Decompose | To break a number down into smaller parts, such as breaking 7 into 5 and 2. |
Suggested Methodologies
Planning templates for Mathematics
5E Model
The 5E Model structures lessons through five phases (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate), guiding students from curiosity to deep understanding through inquiry-based learning.
Unit PlannerMath Unit
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RubricMath Rubric
Build a math rubric that assesses problem-solving, mathematical reasoning, and communication alongside procedural accuracy, giving students feedback on how they think, not just whether they got the right answer.
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