Know the Make-10 Pairs

Students memorize the pairs of numbers that add to 10: 0+10, 1+9, 2+8, 3+7, 4+6, 5+5. These combinations are a key benchmark for later strategies.

Try three of them

Real questions from this skill, graded here. No account, and nothing is saved.

Grade 1 · Counting, Fluency, and Fact Strategies · question 1 of 3

0 of 12

12 rungs. A star at the top.

6 + 4 =

How it is taught

0:00 of 2:30

A make-10 pair adds to ten.

Two numbers that make 10 are partners.

Read it: See the empty spaces

You have 8 counters in the frame. 2 cells sit empty. See the 2 without counting: 8 + 2 = 10, and 10 − 8 = 2.

Look at the frame: 8 counters, 2 empty cells.
See the empty pair without counting: 2.
Say both facts: 8 + 2 = 10 and 10 − 8 = 2.

Counting the empty spaces 1, 2 works, but it is slow, and you can lose a space when you look away.

2 empty spaces sit together as a pair you can see at a glance, so you do not have to touch them.

The frame is always 10, so 8 counters already tells you 2 cells are left without recounting.

To make 10, see the empty spaces instead of counting them.

Counting the 8 counters when asked how many more make 10, and answering 8.

The counters you already have are 8. The empty cells are what still make 10: 2.

5 + ___ = 10 — 5. A full frame is 10. 5 counters are in it, so 5 cells are empty.

6 + 4 = 10 (and the rest of the pairs)

Today we're learning the Make-10 Pairs — special pairs of numbers that team up to make exactly ten.

Here are ten empty boxes. Together they will hold ten.

Let's color in six boxes blue.

Four boxes are still empty. Six and four together make ten!

There are six Make-10 Pairs. Let's learn them all by heart.

Zero plus ten is ten.

One plus nine is ten.

Two plus eight is ten.

Three plus seven is ten.

Four plus six is ten — that's the pair we just colored in.

And five plus five is ten — the doubles pair!

Grade 1 · The six special pairs that team up to make ten

Six pairs to remember. Knowing your Make-10 Pairs makes adding so much faster!

What you see

While they climb, your page writes one true line to ask about tonight, and a short note each Sunday.

MayaGrade 3 · Mathematics

Did you know?

A chessboard has 64 squares — share them out between the 8 rows and each row holds exactly 8.

Today’s goal: 1 star — one skill mastered, every rung of its ladder climbed
Climbing now: Divide within 100

An example student.

MayaGrade 3 · Mathematics

Maya earned 2 stars this week — Interpret multiplication as equal groups, which took 6 answers over 3 days before its star landed 3 days ago and Multiply by 6, 7, 8 and 9. Next up: Divide within 100.

An example week.

More of the library

Every skill has a page

Practise this skill free

14 days of every skill, practice packets, Fluency sheets and up to four students. No card.

Start free