Addition up to 10

By the end of this lesson a child can add two numbers whose sum is at most 10 and can check the result by counting. It is a first-grade lesson, about ten minutes at home.

What the child can do at the end

• Read + as “add” and = as “makes”.
• For 4 + 3, start at 4 and count only the new ones: 5, 6, 7.
• Know that 0 + 5 = 5, because zero means there is nothing at the start.

What addition means

Addition joins two groups into one. If 2 apples are on the table and we add 3 more, the question is how many apples there are now. The sentence 2 + 3 = 5 says: start at 2, add 3, and you have 5.

The same sum can be written the other way: 3 + 2 = 5. The groups swap places, the total stays the same. A child can check that with apples instead of memorizing it.

One problem, step by step

Ana has 4 pencils. A classmate gives her 3 more. How many pencils does Ana have now?

1. The first number is what Ana already has: 4.
2. The second number is what she receives: 3.
3. Write 4 + 3.
4. Four is already there. Count only the new pencils: 5, 6, 7.
5. The sum is 7. Check: put 4 pencils and 3 pencils on the table and count them all. It is still seven.

A common mistake

For 4 + 3 a child counts “4, 5, 6” and stops at 6. They counted the four itself, so they added only two instead of three. Four is already there. Count only the new things: 5, 6, 7.

The other common slip is a problem with zero. In 0 + 5 there is nothing at the start, then five are added. The answer is 5, not 0. In 5 + 0 there are already five and nothing is added, so the answer stays 5.

Practice

Solve these without looking at the answers. For each one, start at the first number and count only as many as the second number says.

1. 1 + 2 = ___
2. 3 + 4 = ___
3. 5 + 2 = ___
4. 6 + 1 = ___
5. 2 + 6 = ___
6. 4 + 5 = ___
7. 7 + 1 = ___
8. 3 + 6 = ___
9. 8 + 2 = ___
10. 0 + 5 = ___

One more in words: 3 birds are on a branch, then 2 more land. How many birds are on the branch now?

Answers

1. 3
2. 7
3. 7
4. 7
5. 8
6. 9
7. 8
8. 9
9. 10
10. 5

Birds: 3 + 2 = 5. From 3, count two more: 4, 5.

Say 8 + 2 out loud. Eight is already there. The new ones are two: 9, then 10. Ten is the largest sum in this lesson. If the child says 11, they counted one step too far.

After the lesson, the quiz

When the list is done without looking at the answers below, open the addition quiz. If an answer is wrong, go back to counting on fingers, then try the same kind of problem again. The addition table shows every sum up to 10 in one place.

Addition quiz Addition table

For a parent

One sitting is five problems. If the child misses one, ask them to show the number on their fingers. Repeating the correct number does not stick. The next day, start from the problem that stopped them, not from a new sheet.

Printable worksheet

The same kind of problems can be done on paper, at home or in the classroom.

Download the PDF worksheet