Learning how to Make a Ten

One of the most important skills we are learning in math is how to "make a ten" to help us add.  This skill will help your child throughout the years as they tackle harder math concepts. 

We have been working on this in first grade by using manipulatives to help up visualize what is happening.  The first step is to show both numbers from your equations on a ten frame.  Your child has been working on how to draw 10 frames, please encourage them to use this tool if they are having trouble with this concept!

Next, you need to think of the friends of 10.  8 and what would make ten?  To visualize this, we moved two counters up to fill in a ten frame. 

 In our equation, we drew two circles under the 7 to show that we are decomposing that number.  We are breaking the 7 into two parts:  What we need to make a ten and whatever is left over.  

We filled in the circle by the 8 with a 2 because we needed 2 more to make a ten.

In first grade, we have been having the children find and circle the friends of ten, and write a ten next to it to remind themselves that we combined the 8 and the 2 to make 10.  

 The next step is to look back at our ten frames and see how much of the 7 is left.  There is 5 left, so we put 5 in the other circle.

The last step is to put it back together.  We now have 1 group of ten and 5 more, so our answer is 15.

As the year goes on, we hope for this to become a mental process for your first grader.  At home, please practice decomposing numbers to help this become more automatic for your child!  Thank you! :)