Kindergarten · Math · week 22

Make ten: friendly pairs

Find pairs of numbers that combine to make exactly 10, using ten-frames or fingers.

Ten is the friendliest number in math, and it has a whole family of pairs: 1 and 9, 2 and 8, 3 and 7, 4 and 6, 5 and 5. Each pair snaps together to make exactly 10.

Your ten fingers are the perfect tool for this. If 6 fingers are up, count the ones that are down: 4. So 6 and 4 make 10.

📋 For the teacher
Teach it (10–15 min):
  • Use fingers first. It is the fastest, always-available tool for make-ten pairs.
  • Practice a fast flash game: hold up some fingers, ask for the missing partner to 10.
  • Use a ten-frame as a backup for a visual check.
  • This skill is a huge building block for addition later. It is worth real repetition now.
Talk about it:
  • What is the make-ten partner for 3? For 7?
  • How do your fingers help you find make-ten pairs fast?
  • Which make-ten pair is your favorite?

Mastery looks like: They quickly find the make-ten partner for any number 0 through 10 using fingers or a ten-frame.

Common stumbles: Counting the fingers that are up instead of the ones that are down; forgetting 5 and 5 or 10 and 0 as valid pairs.

See it visually

Interactive, spoken-aloud tools that show this idea in motion.

AdditionSee groups combine — with counters, blocks, and the number line.try →Counting & Ten-FramesCount objects in ten-frames and base-ten blocks, one tap at a time.try →
Homework for this lessonType it, write it with a stylus, or print it for pencil & paper.open →
Records attendance + 15 min of Math for this learner.
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