Addition Fluency Using a Ten Frame
Addition fluency is a critical skill for kindergarten students to develop. It is the ability to recall addition facts quickly and accurately, without having to count. Practicing first with a ten frame and counting strategies leads to fluency.Here is a game for addition practice, using a ten frame, 2 dice, and counters. I'm using the dinosaur ten frames from the Math Kit.
Materials:
- A ten frame
- 2 dice
- Counters
Instructions:
- Place the ten frame on a table in front of the student.
- Roll the 2 dice.
- Place counters on the ten frame to represent each number - make the bigger number first.
- Count the cubes/counters altogether (encourage counting-on from the larger number).
- For example, roll 5 and 3. Count the 5 onto the frame and then add 3 more, counting 6, 7, 8.
- Talk about how many more to make 10.
Variations:
- To make the activity more challenging, use dice with more dots (and multiple ten frames to build larger numbers).
- To make the activity more engaging, use fun ten frames like this dinosaur!
- To assess students' progress, ask them to complete an addition and observe their counting/addition.
This activity is:
- Hands-on and engaging: Students are actively involved in the learning process, which helps them to retain information more effectively.
- Visual: The ten frame provides a visual representation of the addition facts, which helps students to understand the concepts behind them.
- Interactive: Students can work together to complete the activity, which helps them to develop their social skills and cooperation skills.
- Fun: Students enjoy playing games, and this activity makes learning addition fluency fun!