Addition to 10 Games for Kids

How to Learn Addition Facts to 10

To learn the addition facts to 10, start with +1, count on from the bigger number, and learn the pairs that make 10 and the doubles by heart. Then practice a little most days until the answers come without counting. In the games, the +1 to +5 choices let your child practice one step at a time.

+1 is the next number

Adding 1 gives the next number in counting: 4 + 1 = 5, 7 + 1 = 8 and 9 + 1 = 10. A child who can count to 10 already knows these. Every fact also works the other way around, so 1 + 7 is the same as 7 + 1 = 8. +2 is two counts on: for 6 + 2, say 7, 8.

Count on from the bigger number

For +2, +3 and +4, start at the bigger number and count on. For 6 + 3, say 6 and count three more: 7, 8, 9. A number line shows it as hops: start on 6, make 3 hops, and land on the answer.

When the smaller number comes first, swap them. 2 + 7 is the same as 7 + 2, and counting 8, 9 is quicker than counting seven steps from 2. Counting on is a step, not the goal: once a fact comes up again and again, your child starts to know it without counting.

Learn the pairs to 10

Five pairs make 10: 1 + 9, 2 + 8, 3 + 7, 4 + 6 and 5 + 5, and the same pairs turned around. Fingers show them well: hold up 7 fingers, and the 3 fingers that are down make the pair to 10. These pairs are worth knowing by heart, because they are the key to sums over 10 later, like 8 + 5 = 8 + 2 + 3 = 13. Our number bonds games and making 10 games practice them with a missing number, like 7 + ? = 10.

Know the doubles up to 5 + 5

1 + 1 = 2, 2 + 2 = 4, 3 + 3 = 6, 4 + 4 = 8 and 5 + 5 = 10. Doubles stick quickly because they are easy to see: two hands of 5 fingers make 10. A double also gives its neighbor: 4 + 5 is one more than 4 + 4, so it is 9, and 3 + 4 is one more than 3 + 3, so it is 7.

Common mistakes

• Counting the start number. For 5 + 3, a child counts “5, 6, 7” and says 7. The start number is not one of the hops: say 5, then count three more, 6, 7, 8. So 5 + 3 = 8. Raising one finger for each count, starting with the 6, helps.
• Starting from the smaller number. For 2 + 7, counting on seven times from 2 is slow, and it is easy to lose count. Swap the numbers and start from 7: 8, 9. So 2 + 7 = 9.

When the facts to 10 come quickly, move on to our addition to 20 games, where the pairs to 10 help with sums like 8 + 5. All the ranges, up to 1,000, are on the addition games page. For ideas away from the screen, see our counting activities and our guide to what math a 5 year old should know.

What Grade Learns Addition to 10?

Addition within 10 is a kindergarten and 1st grade skill in the US, usually learned at ages 5-7. In kindergarten, children split numbers up to 10 into pairs in more than one way (K.OA.A.3), find the number that makes 10 with any number from 1 to 9 (K.OA.A.4) and add fluently within 5 (K.OA.A.5). In 1st grade, Common Core standard 1.OA.C.6 expects fluency within 10, with strategies like counting on and doubles, as children start adding within 20. In England, children recall number bonds up to 5 and some number bonds to 10, including double facts, by the end of Reception, and use number bonds within 20 in Year 1.

Age

5-7

US grade

K-1

Standard

Common Core 1.OA.C.6

England

Reception-Year 1