Make Ten Addition Worksheets and Teaching Guide
Help first graders connect counters, ten frames and equations when adding across ten. Use this guide to choose a starting activity, model one example and decide what to practice next.
Where to start
Check that the learner can find the missing part in 7 + ? = 10. If this is uncertain, start with combinations that total ten before using sums greater than ten.
A common mistake
Splitting an addend must preserve its total. In 9 + 5, moving one counter to fill ten leaves four counters, not five.
What to try next
Ask the learner to solve 8 + 5 with a drawing and explain where each part of five went. Use the explanation, rather than speed alone, to choose the next task.
Practice in learning order
Select the resource that matches the learner’s current skill. Grade labels are guides; the activity and prerequisite skills matter more than completing every sheet.
Make Ten in Different Ways: Explore and Explain
Explore · Adult guidance · 8 min
Find a missing part of ten using a ten frame. Connect parts of ten with addition equations. Explain and check a total-of-ten model. A focused learn activity. Use the linked unit for the learning sequence and teaching guide.
Add Across Ten with a Ten Frame: Explore and Explain
Explore · Adult guidance · 8 min
Find the amount needed to reach ten. Split an addend without changing its value and add across ten. Explain the strategy in a story or a corrected example. A focused learn activity. Use the linked unit for the learning sequence and teaching guide.
Add Across Ten with a Ten Frame: Practice Independently
Practice · Adult guidance · 10 min
Find the amount needed to reach ten. Split an addend without changing its value and add across ten. Explain the strategy in a story or a corrected example. A focused practice activity. Use the linked unit for the learning sequence and teaching guide.
Add Across Ten with a Ten Frame: Apply and Create
Apply · Adult guidance · 12 min
Find the amount needed to reach ten. Split an addend without changing its value and add across ten. Explain the strategy in a story or a corrected example. A focused apply activity. Use the linked unit for the learning sequence and teaching guide.
Add Across Ten with a Ten Frame: Check Your Understanding
Check · Adult guidance · 8 min
Find the amount needed to reach ten. Split an addend without changing its value and add across ten. Explain the strategy in a story or a corrected example. A focused check activity. Use the linked unit for the learning sequence and teaching guide.
Add Across Ten with a Ten Frame: Review Connections
Review · Adult guidance · 10 min
Find the amount needed to reach ten. Split an addend without changing its value and add across ten. Explain the strategy in a story or a corrected example. A focused review activity. Use the linked unit for the learning sequence and teaching guide.
Model 8 + 5: fill ten, then count what remains
Draw two rows of five boxes to make a ten frame. Fill eight boxes with counters and place five more counters beside the frame. Ask how many empty boxes remain: two. Move two of the five counters into those spaces. Three stay outside, so the new arrangement shows 10 + 3 = 13. Write 5 = 2 + 3 and 8 + 5 = 8 + 2 + 3. Point to each group as you say the equation. The counters have moved; their total has stayed the same.
A short lesson at school or at home
Allow about ten minutes, with a pencil, paper and twenty small objects. Begin with two missing-part questions such as 6 + ? = 10 and 9 + ? = 10. Model one crossing-ten sum together, then let the learner build a different sum. Use Make Ten in Different Ways to check the prerequisite: finding parts that total ten. Then use Add Across Ten with a Ten Frame for supported exploration, independent calculation and a story or drawing. The short check asks learners to explain a split; Review Connections mixes crossing-ten sums with a sum that stays below ten. Print only the activity you intend to use; save the answer view for the adult.
When a correct answer hides an uncertain strategy
If the learner counts all thirteen counters from one, accept the total and ask which group already makes ten. If the written split is 5 = 2 + 5, return to the original five counters and physically separate them. If finding the complement to ten takes most of the effort, use totals of ten before crossing ten again. Counting on is also a useful strategy; ask the learner to compare it with making ten rather than insisting on a single method for every sum.
Check understanding before assigning another page
Use 9 + 4 as a quick check: an explanation might be “one from four fills ten; three remain; ten and three is thirteen.” Next try 7 + 5 so the missing part changes. Ask why the total stayed the same. If the learner can explain both examples with a model or equation, offer a short mixed set. If not, keep the model available and change only one feature of the next problem. These checks guide instruction; they are not a timed test or a mastery score.