Basic Adding
Background Information & Activities

Addition is a key math concept that teachers visit and build upon year after year, so the extent of what your children already know will vary. It is important for your children to understand that there are many different ways to add, such as using counters and tally marks, counting on, using doubles, adding tens, and skip-counting. Encourage them to use different strategies and prompt them to do mental math throughout the day.

Your child can also use counters or number lines to model addition problems. They can also use tally charts to help them add. They can draw tally marks to represent each number and then count the marks in all. Since tally marks are grouped in fives, your children can then skip-count by fives to count and find the sum more easily than using counters.

Your children can also “count on” to add by starting with the larger number and counting on the smaller number. For example, in 2 + 6, students would start with 6 and count on 2 to arrive at 8. Adding ten is another helpful strategy. For example, in 7 + 20, students can start with 7 and add two 10’s: 7, 17, 27. Your children should note how the tens place changes as you add tens, but the ones place remains the same.

Doubles facts can also help your children add more efficiently. Doubles are number sentences that use the same addend, such as 2 + 2 = 4 or 6 + 6 = 12. Your children can apply their knowledge of doubles to other addition problems. For example, to solve 4 + 5, students can use the doubles fact of 4 + 4 = 8. Since 5 is one greater than 4, the sum of 4 + 5 should be one greater than the sum of 4 + 4. Similarly, since 4 is one less than 5, the sum of 4 + 5 should be one less than the sum of 5 + 5.

Encourage your children to use these strategies to add and think of other ways to make adding faster and easier. Practice using different strategies to solve number sentences together. This will allow your children to become more comfortable with adding and develop their math and higher-order thinking skills.

Basic Adding Teacher Activities – Click Here!

Basic Adding Family Activities – Click Here!

Basic Adding Teacher Activities

Count On Me

As a kinesthetic activity, gather all your students in a group. Together, come up with addition problems and use students as “counters” to solve. For example, to model 3 + 2, have three students stand in a group and have two more join them. Then have everyone count the students to find the sum.

As an extension, you can write addition word problems on the board and have students model it. For example, you can write, “Five students wearing blue do jumping jacks. Three students wearing red do sit ups. How many students are exercising in all?” Students can take their turn acting out or saying addition problems aloud.

Add Tens

Write different numbers on flash cards or slips of paper. Put them in a hat or a box and have students draw a number. Then have students add multiples of tens to their numbers. Students can write addition sentences on the board and show their sums. Encourage them to verbalize their addition strategies as they solve the problems. Point out how the ones place remains the same but the tens place changes.

Giant Number Line

Together with your students, create a giant number line along a wall of the classroom. Write different addition number sentences on the board and have students use the number line to solve. Then have students make up their own addition number sentences in their notebooks or on the board. Other classmates can solve them by using the number line. Students can also write word problems that feature addition. You may wish to model examples for them and review key phrases used in addition word problems such as “in all” or “all together.”

Basic Adding Family Activities

Ruler Line

Together with your child, use a ruler as a number line to add. This provides a terrific opportunity to measure in metric or customary units while using basic math skills. Measure the length of an object at home and then practice counting on 1, 2, or 3 units. You can then measure other objects and add different lengths together. Encourage your child to write down the number sentences in his or her notebook and solve using different adding strategies.

Bean Counter

Write down different addition sentences and have your child use dried beans to model the problem to solve. Be sure to use addition sentences that feature doubles or multiples of tens. Your child may come up with his or her own strategies to solve the problems, or you may wish to practice the strategies introduced in the movie. After your child is comfortable using counters, have him or her solve by using a tally chart. Have your child explain why tally charts make counting easier or harder for them.