Making 10 Games for Kids

Making 10 means two things, and children learn them in this order. In kindergarten, it means finding the number that makes 10 with another number: 7 and 3, 6 and 4. In 1st grade, it becomes a strategy for adding over 10, often called make a ten: fill a ten first, then add what is left, so 9 + 6 = 10 + 5 = 15. The pairs to 10 come first, because the strategy is built on them.

Pairs to 10

From 1 to 9, every number has one partner that makes 10: 1 and 9, 2 and 8, 3 and 7, 4 and 6, and 5 and 5. Two everyday tools make the pairs visible. Hold up 10 fingers and fold down 7: the 3 still up are the partner. Or fill 7 squares of a ten frame, two rows of five, and count the empty squares: 3.

Pairs to 10 are the number bonds for 10, the foundation of everything below. Our number bonds games practice them along with bonds to 5, 20 and 100.

The make a ten strategy in three steps

To add over 10, fill a ten first. For 8 + 5:

1. How many does 8 need to make 10? 2.
2. Split 5 into 2 and 3: the 2 fill the ten, and 3 are left.
3. Add what is left to 10: 10 + 3 = 13.

The same three steps work for every fact that crosses 10. For 9 + 6, 9 needs 1, so 6 splits into 1 and 5, and 10 + 5 = 15. For 7 + 6, 7 needs 3, so 6 splits into 3 and 3, and 10 + 3 = 13. Start from the bigger number: 4 + 9 is easier as 9 + 4 = 10 + 3 = 13, because 9 needs only 1.

Patterns with 9 and 8

With 9, the answer is 10 plus one less than the number added: 9 + 7 = 10 + 6 = 16, and 9 + 4 = 13. With 8, it is 10 plus two less: 8 + 7 = 15, and 8 + 4 = 12. Your child does not need to memorize this as a rule. It falls out of the strategy: 9 takes 1 from the other number to make 10, and 8 takes 2.

Make a ten with three numbers

When three numbers are added, look for two that make 10 and add them first: 7 + 5 + 3 = 7 + 3 + 5 = 10 + 5 = 15. Common Core standard 1.OA.A.2 has 1st graders solve word problems that add three numbers, and spotting a pair to 10 makes many of them quick.

Common mistakes

• 15 instead of 13 for 8 + 5. The child makes the ten but then adds the whole 5 instead of the 3 that are left. To check, say what moved: 2 went into the ten, so 5 − 2 = 3 are left, and 10 + 3 = 13.
• 12 instead of 13 when counting on. Counting “8, 9, 10, 11, 12” on five fingers starts the count at 8 itself and lands one short. Making a ten avoids the count. To check a counted answer, start at the next number: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.
• 17 for 7 + ? = 10. On a missing-number question, a child may add the two numbers shown. Read it as a question: 7 and what make 10? Fold down 7 of 10 fingers, and 3 are still up.

For all the facts within 20, with and without crossing 10, play our addition to 20 games. For ten frame play at home, try the ten frame fill activity, and to see why your child's class uses these methods, read what is new math.