Bridging Strategy for Addition

We are so thrilled to release our 37th Math Pack! You can use our Math Packs as stand-alone units and do not need to use all of them or in any particular order. The order is sequenced and progresses steadily.

The bridging strategy in addition is a powerful strategy that can be used flexibly across a range of areas in maths and can be applied in many ways. This pack will help your students begin to understand the concept of bridging to ten. We start with a review of the combinations that make ten.

Our Math Packs can help you get math organized for the week and help you sequence learning experiences!

These 5 activities will help

review combinations that make ten
learn to look for numbers that easily 'make a ten'
bridge to ten
remember bridge to ten strategy facts

Each of the 5 small-group activities has:

detailed instructions
playing cards/boards/templates
a worksheet (either a recording worksheet or a fun-follow-up)
a cover page to help you organize your resources for future reference

The activities included in this bundle are:

Making Ten

We've included 3 fun ways for students to review the combinations that make ten - 5 and 5, 6 and 4, 3 and 7, 8 and 2, 9 and 1. These need to be very familiar for the 'bridge to ten' strategy to develop.

Train Add Up

All aboard! There are 3 carriages on the train and students need to determine which 2 numbers would be best side-by-side to make an easy-ten (or twenty). They will also write the number problem and answer.

Fill a Ten

To find the total of 2 numbers, students will fill a ten frame before adding the rest. They will naturally see how some numbers are so near to ten that the bridging strategy makes sense!

Domino Dots

Students will visualise sliding dots on a domino to make a ten before finding the total. This is a good way to transition from concrete to abstract and encourage the visualisation of math. A set of cards with the 'ten' featured in pink is included as a standard blackline version.

Fact Cards

The pack culminates with an activity that encourages students to remember all the addition facts they have learnt through the other 4 activities and become super-fluent with them. Students will memorize the addition facts that relate to 'bridge to ten' strategy and become.

These activities can be used in a structured game rotation program, as math centers or in guided math. Once taught, they also make fantastic 'fast-finisher' activities for revision of key concepts