Grade by Grade
Strand A: Foundations of Language and Mathematics · Numbers and Counting

Making Numbers to 10

A6.5 A6.4About 20 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can show a number in different ways, like 5 is 3 and 2.
  • I can find the missing part when some are hiding.
  • I can use a ten frame to see how many more make 10.

Words to know

part
Some of a group. 3 red and 2 blue are the two parts of 5.
in all
Everything together. The whole group.
ten frame
A box with 10 spaces, in two rows of 5.

Bunny hide-and-seek

Grown-up: read aloud.

5 bunnies live in a field. Some bunnies hop outside to play. The rest stay in their burrow under the snow. Look! 2 bunnies are outside. How many are hiding in the burrow?

🐰🐰
2 bunnies are outside. There are 5 bunnies in all.

Let's use our fingers. Hold up 5 fingers. Put down 2 for the bunnies outside. How many fingers are still up? 3!

So 3 bunnies are in the burrow. 2 and 3 make 5.

Two wild cottontail rabbits with grey-brown fur sit in the snow among bare bushes.
Here are 2 bunnies outside in the snow. If 3 more are hiding in the burrow, 2 and 3 make 5 bunnies. AI-generated image

Numbers have parts

A number can be split into parts. And parts can be put together to make the number. Here are ways to make 5:

🔴🔴🔴🔴🔵
4 red and 1 blue make 5.
🔴🔴🔴🔵🔵
3 red and 2 blue make 5.
RedBlueIn all
505
415
325
235
145
055
All the ways to make 5 with red and blue counters.
Worked example

Shake and spill

Put 6 two-coloured beans (or coins) in a cup. Shake them and spill them out. What did we get?

  1. Count the ones that landed one way: 4 (or heads up).
  2. Count the ones that landed the other way: 2.
  3. Count them all: 6. It is always 6!
  4. Say it: 4 and 2 make 6.

4 and 2 make 6. Spill again and you may get a different pair, like 5 and 1. Each pair still makes 6.

Making 10 with a ten frame

A ten frame has 10 spaces. The empty spaces show how many more we need to make 10.

7 apples. 3 spaces are empty. 7 and 3 make 10.
Worked example

How many more make 10?

The ten frame has 8 dots. How many more do we need to make 10?

  1. Look at the ten frame. The top row is full: 5. The bottom row has 3.
  2. Count the empty spaces: 1, 2.
  3. So we need 2 more.

8 and 2 make 10.

Think about 5 and 10

A full top row of a ten frame is 5. So 7 is "5 and 2 more". 7 is also "3 less than 10". Thinking about 5 and 10 makes numbers easier.

Just for fun

What is a bunny’s favourite game?

Hopscotch! 🐰

Hands-on activity

Shake and spill, bowling, and hide the part

You need: 5 to 10 coins or two-coloured beans (paint one side with a marker), a cup, and empty plastic bottles.

  1. Shake and spill: shake 5 coins in a cup and spill. Count heads and tails. "3 heads and 2 tails make 5."
  2. Bowling: set up 10 empty bottles. Roll a ball. How many fell down? How many are still standing? "6 fell and 4 are standing. 6 and 4 make 10."
  3. Hide the part: put 5 blocks out. The grown-up hides some under a bowl while you close your eyes. Count the ones you can see. How many are hiding? Lift the bowl to check.

Safety: supervise young children with coins and small beans.

Your turn

1

🔴🔴🔴🔵🔵

How many red? How many blue? How many in all?

2

Show 5 fingers using both hands. Can you find another way?

3

5 bunnies. 1 is outside. How many are hiding in the burrow?

4

A ten frame has 9 dots. How many more make 10?

5

4 and 1 make __?

6

3 and __ make 5?

More practice: warm-up

1

🔴🔴🔵

How many in all?

2

2 and 2 make __?

3

1 and 1 make __?

4

5 and 0 make __?

5

Hold up 5 fingers. Put 1 down. How many are up?

More practice: on your own

1

Do 6 and 4 make 10? Use your fingers or a ten frame to check.

2

8 and __ make 10?

3

🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔵🔵🔵🔵

How many in all?

4

7 is 5 and how many more?

5

10 bowling pins. 7 fall down. How many are still standing?

Challenge

1

Find two ways to make 6.

2

4 and __ make 10?

3

There are 8 blocks. You see 5. The rest are under a bowl. How many are hiding?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

3 and 2 make …

2.

A ten frame has 8 dots. How many more make 10?

3.

Which is a way to make 5?

4.

5 bunnies. 2 are outside. How many are in the burrow?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Composing and decomposing (putting numbers together and taking them apart) is the most important number idea before Grade 1. When a child knows that 7 is 5 and 2, or 3 less than 10, adding and subtracting become much easier.

Common difficulties:

  • Not believing the total stays the same. After a shake-and-spill, children may want to count all over again. That's okay. Ask, "Did we add any? Take any away?"
  • Finding the hidden part. This is hard at first. Use real objects and let them check under the bowl.
  • Partners of 10. Start with 5, then 6 and 7, then 10. Ten frames and fingers help a lot.

How to help: Play shake and spill and hide-the-part games often. Turn an egg carton into a ten frame: a dozen carton has 12 cups, so tape over 2 cups at one end to leave two rows of 5. Say number pairs out loud: "You have 3 grapes and 2 grapes. That makes 5 grapes!"