Our Make Twenty and Make Ten cards are perfect to begin encouraging students to develop this bridging strategy. Students will look for combinations that easily make a ten or twenty to find the overall total more fluently.
To get ready:
- print and laminate the cards
- provide dry erase markers
- ask students to look carefully at the visual number towers
- ask students what they notice about the number towers - perhaps they can make matching ones with real equipment
To complete the activity:
- students may notice in the example above, that the 14 and 6 build a 2o - if not, point it out to them
- remind students that by quickly counting the 20, all they need to do is add the third tower to find the overall total - 28
- ask students to link the 2 parts that make 20 with their dry erase marker too
Variation:
- more capable students make like to record directly to the worksheet without marking the actual activity/task card
Plenty of practice
- students need to learn this strategy, then apply it to other mathematical tasks
- loads of practice with activities like this one will help students integrate this strategy into their mathematical problem solving
Find this printable resource in our store in 2 version: