Posted by: Alesia Netuk

Updated: September 28th, 2023

How Making a Ten Strategy Help with Mental Math Skills

How Making a Ten Strategy Help with Mental Math Skills

Making a ten is a strategy that allows children to explore the different combinations of numbers that create ten. Once this understanding is solidified, it can be extended to support children as they work with larger numbers and employ mental math strategies to find answers.

PREPARING ENGAGING LESSONS
JUST GOT EASIER …

Save hours on your lesson preparation time every week with an organized collection of high-quality, low-prep, hands-on printables right at your fingertips!

PREPARING ENGAGING LESSONS
JUST GOT EASIER …

Save hours on your lesson preparation time every week with an organized collection of high-quality, low-prep, hands-on printables right at your fingertips!

What is the Making a Ten Strategy?

The making a ten strategy helps children understand place value and the relationships between numbers. It requires them to think of all the possible number combinations that can be used to make ten. When introducing this strategy, have children think of numbers they can add together to equal ten, like five and five, three and seven, and nine and one. 

When introducing this concept, it is beneficial to use concrete materials like ten frames, to help children visualize the different ways to represent ten. It is also important to help them see that opposites, like six and four, and four and six, both make ten. 

When working with ten frames, it is helpful to have children represent numbers less than ten as well. Then, use language to describe the numbers in relation to ten. For example, when making eight, it is two less than ten. 

Becoming very comfortable with making ten will allow children to flexibly use ten as a benchmark when working with larger numbers. This is because place value is based on groups of ten. 

Making a Ten to Support Addition

Making a ten is a helpful strategy when teaching children how to add numbers with totals greater than ten. For example, when adding nine and three, they can manipulate this sentence to be ten plus two. (i.e., Take one from the three and add it to the nine to make a ten. Then add the two leftovers.)

Demonstrate how to use the making a ten strategy to add larger numbers using two ten frames. In the example above, children place nine counters in one ten frame and three counters in the other ten frame. The goal is to make a ten, so children move one of the three counters to fill the ten frame that started with nine. This shows them that nine and three is the same number of counters as ten and two. Provide children with many opportunities to practice this concept, using a variety of numbers.  

Using Mental Math Strategies

As children develop proficiency with using ten as a benchmark, they can apply those skills to mental math. Mental math occurs when we solve math questions or problems in our head, without relying on manipulatives, a calculator, or a paper and pencil. Mental math requires children to manipulate numbers in their heads. Because our place value system is based on groups of ten, and because ten is an easier number to work with than many others, the making a ten strategy is ideal for performing mental math.

For example, consider adding 57 and 24. If you take three from 24 and add it to 57, you now have the numbers 60 and 21 to work with. Because 60 is a multiple of ten, it makes the addition sentence easier to perform in your head. 60 and 21 make 81, just like 57 and 24 make 81. 

Making a ten is a great strategy to teach young children who are learning about the relationships between numbers from zero to ten. As they grow in their proficiency with numbers, making a ten creates a foundation that children can continue to use as they work with larger numbers. It’s even great for adults when performing math in your head!     

LEARNING MATERIALS TO MEET EVERY CHILD’S NEEDS

Here, at PrimaryLearning.Org, we tend to deliver the best-differentiated learning materials to K-2 students. Our resources can be easily incorporated into multisensory lessons to meet every child’s needs, whether s/he is a visual, kinesthetic, or auditory learner.