Friends of Ten

Knowing combinations of numbers to ten is a very important kindergarten concept.  (In fact it is CCSC K.OA.4- For any given number from 1 to 9, find the number that makes 10 when added to the given number.)

We do a lot of activities in my classroom to understand this concept- the more practice the better, right?

One activity that my kids love is called Bears on the Bus.  

Kids can work in pairs or individually at a math center.  I introduce the game in partner pairs so that they can work cooperatively to make groups of tens.  This helps everyone understand the game (because no matter how long I explain it, model it, etc, there are always a handful of kids who still don't understand the directions)  and my partnering kids up for the first go-round, hopefully one of those partners understood and can explain it t" is to fill up the bus with bears.  Simple really.

Each child needs 10 bears of one color.  The other child needs 10 bears of a different color.  One player spins a number and puts that many bears on the bus.  They then look at the empty seats in the ten frame to see how many bears of the other color are needed to make ten.  They fill up the bus with the second color and record their answers on the sheet.  Then player two spins and they repeat the process.



Another way to practice fact families of ten is to play Friends of Ten with a deck of cards.  I love using playing cards in the classroom!  They are sturdy, easy to replace, require no prep, AND the kids always consider any activity that we do with them a "game".   Their faces light up when I bring out the cards.

Here's how I play "Friends of Ten."  I love it because it is a cooperative game with no winner.  We work together to find the "Friends of Ten."

All you need to play is an ordinary deck of cards.  Before beginning, take out the face cards (jacks, queens, and kings).  Aces will be used as ones.  To play, lay out seven cards face up.  Students are looking for pairs of numbers that make ten.  If they see one, they show me a silent thumb up to their chest.  I call on a student and they say the equation and take the cards.  The ten is used by itself, but the students must say 10 + 0 = 10.  We all echo the number sentence stated by the student.

Replace the cards that were taken with two more from the deck, always leaving seven cards facing up. Continue finding pairs, taking them off, and replacing them.  If there are no pairs for ten in the seven cards showing, lay down another seven cards on top of the others.  Now when students take off the pair of cards that equals ten, the cards underneath will be revealed, so you don't need to replace them with new cards.

I love this game because with the quiet thumb up to their chest, I can give everyone "think time" to find a match and I choose who to call upon so that I can make sure everyone gets matches.  All the kids feel successful at the end of the game.

1 comment Common Core, Fun Stuff, Math, Math Centers