Ways to Make 10 Games: Hands on Activities for First Grade

Do you ever feel frustrated with how quickly your math book teaches concepts and moves on? I remember having one or two days to teach the ways to make 10. A few students could grasp the concept quickly, but most needed repeated practice in order to fluently remember the number combinations that equaled ten.

Today, I am sharing some hands-on activities to teach making ten. These activities are perfect for your small groups and interventions. Once the activities have been introduced and practiced, they easily transfer to a learning center.

Ways to Make 10 Games

Ten Frame Activities:

Shake it up is a super fun activity for practicing number combinations that equal ten. Students put ten 2-sided counters into a small cup, shake it up, and dump them out. They record the counters on a ten frame and write a matching addition sentence.

Kids love playing spinner games! In this game, students spin a number and build it with one type of counter. Then, they add different counters for the second number that equals ten. Last, they record the matching addition sentence.

Using Cubes to Make Ten:

Start with ten frames that already have one number represented. Students add cubes to fill the rest of the frame to make ten. Then use magnetic letters or letter tiles to show the two numbers that make ten.

Tens Staircase is a great activity for showing students ALL the combinations of ten in a systematic way. Students start with 20 cubes- 10 of two different colors. They begin with all cubes of one color, then slowly begin changing one cube at a time. 

They record the cubes as they go, so they can see the visual pattern in the cubes and numbers. This is a really cool activity if you have enough cubes to physically layout the number staircase.

Card Games and Dominoes:

Card games are another great way to practice ways to make ten. You can play games like Go Fish and Memory where students find the number combinations to ten. A deck of playing cards works great, just remove the face cards and the ace makes 1.

Use a set of dominoes to practice! Instead of matching identical numbers, students match numbers that make ten. You will need dominoes that go up to 9 to play this game. This is a great game to play in a group, with a partner, or even on their own. Add in a simple recording sheet to increase the accountability.

Dice Activities for Making 10:

Somehow, dice make everything more fun! If possible, use a die with ten sides so that students can build all the different number combinations to ten. For students who need more support, the dice with dots are a great place to start. For students working on fluency, dice with numerals are great!

Work on Fluency:

Once students have a concrete understanding of ways to make ten, then it is time to build their fluency! In this partner game, students find a ten pair and color it. They try to be the first person to get 5 in a row. 

You can grab a free set of this game below!

Some students learn best through hands-on projects! This activity is great to add to an interactive notebook. Students can revisit the craft and quiz themselves on the ways to make 10.

Learn more about these activities for Making 10:

Need more hands-on math ideas for first grade? Check out this post about teaching the Commutative Property of Addition.

Ways to Make 10

Sign up to receive this partner game for ways to make ten.

Thank you!

Check your email inbox for your free Find a Match game.

Teaching Phonics with Decodable Reading Passages

Why Use Decodable Reading Passages?

We know that students need explicit instruction in the essential components of reading including phonics, phonological awareness, comprehension, fluency and vocabulary. Decodable reading passages are a great way to teach phonics, fluency, and comprehension!

Decodable passages:

• Provide systematic phonics instruction
• Are fun for students and easy to implement for teachers
• Provide quality text at a carefully controlled level
• Are a flexible learning tool that can be used in a variety of classroom settings

How to use the decodable readers:

On the front cover students are introduced to, or review, a phonics sound. They practice reading words with the pattern, picture clues are included for support. I like students to use a highlighter and highlight the target skill. The words will appear again in the reading passage.

Next, students open up the booklet. On the left column they apply their phonics skills to read words with the pattern. I like students to read the list at least three times to increase their fluency. 

Now it is time to read the phonics-based reading passage! Students should be able to read the text independently. There may be a few high-frequency words that you need to introduce prior to reading. Again, I recommend having the students read the passage multiple times to work on fluency. 

Students search through the passage and find all the words that fit the word pattern being taught. You can have children circle or highlight them. Then, they write them on the list at the bottom center of the page. You can see students are getting a TON of practice with the new phonics skill!!!

After reading and finding the words, it is time for students to do some reading comprehension work! At this level, students complete a cloze reading activity. Later in the year, students answer questions about the text. This is a great way to get students back into the text one more time!

The back cover of the booklet provides a great opportunity for students to apply their new learning! Students write words that contain the learned phonics pattern. Children should be able to write the words without looking back in the passage. This page is a great for you to assess your students understanding of the learned skill.

Currently, I have five sets of phonics-based reading passages: short vowels, silent e, r-controlled vowels, vowel teams, and diphthongs.

The bundle is a great deal because any new sets will also be added to it for free!

Short Vowels Decodable Passages

Sign up to receive a free short a and short u decodable passage.

Thank you!

Check your email inbox for your free decodable passages.

Teaching Strategies for First Grade Writing: Stretch the Sentence

Do you struggle with teaching your first graders to revise their writing? It is such a hard skill to teach in first grade. My students always struggled with understanding the difference between editing and revising. As an early elementary teacher, you CAN begin to lay the foundation for teaching children about revising their writing. Today I wanted to share one of my favorite revising strategies for primary aged children- Stretch the Sentence.

The strategy is just as it sounds. We start with a simple sentence and make it more descriptive and complex one word or phrase at a time. It is a great way for students to begin using adjectives in their writing!

Begin the lesson by modeling a think aloud. You'll want to start with a simple sentence on your projector, chart paper, etc. Let's use the sentence- Mom made cookies- as an example. Underneath the sentence you will rewrite the sentence adding more detail to it. 

You could write:

Mom made sugar cookies.

I like to underline the newly added words.

Then you would repeat the process:

Mom made sugar cookies with frosting.

Keep adding even more! It is great to repeat the process 3-4 times.

Mom made sugar cookies with pink frosting.

Mom made sugar cookies with pink frosting and sprinkles.

Repeat this process over several days using a gradual release of responsibility. You'll want to use a new sentence each day.

Day 1- Model the Strategy/Think Aloud

Day 2- Shared Writing- Teacher writes, but students share ideas for words to add

Day 3- Work with a Partner

Day 4- Independent Practice

Remember to build in some time for sharing along the way. Students can share just the final sentence. It is fun for them to see the different sentences that everyone developed!

Once students are familiar with the strategy, it is important for students to continue to practice it, so that the skill becomes more internalized. 

You really don't need anything special to teach this strategy. If you want a quick and simple resource to practice this skill, I have created a series of worksheets to simplify your planning. You can click the picture to learn more about this resource.

Ultimately, we want our students to be able to apply this skill to their personal writing. Have students choose a sentence from one of their writing pieces and use the strategy to revise their writing project!

Want to try a free sample? Click the picture!

View the full resource here:

Need more writing ideas? Check out this post about teaching opinion writing to first graders!

Three Activities for Teaching Earth Day in First Grade and a Free Earth Day Book

Earth Day Activities for First Grade

I LOVE April! The weather is beginning to warm, and the flowers are starting to bloom. It's the Goldilocks month- not too hot, not too cold...but JUST RIGHT! It really is such a great month to teach about how awesome our Earth is and ways we can take care of it. I hope these Earth Day activities for first grade will help you plan some quick and easy lessons this month.

Activity 1- Reduce

1. The word reduce is likely a new word for many of your students. Start by teaching kids that the word "reduce" means to use less of something. Water is a great item to teach students about using less of it, electricity is also a good option.
2. Brainstorm with kids all of the ways they use water. Write down their ideas as they share them. They might think of drinking, bathing, washing clothes or dishes, watering grass, swimming. 
3. Next, talk about "why". Why should we use less water? Many students have probably never thought about using less water. We turn on the tap and water magically comes out!
4. Last, have students think of ways to use less water. Again, you may want to write down their ideas as they share them. Some simple ideas for first graders to grasp are: turning off the water while they brush their teeth and making sure they shut the tap completely off when they are finished washing. This is a great prompt for students to write about in their journals.
   

Want some ready to go activities for teaching Earth Day?  I have written mini-books to help teach these topics to your students.

Activity 2- Reuse

1. Bring some reusable and nonreusable items into your classrooms such as disposable and reusable water bottles, plastic and reusable grocery bags, paper towels and dishcloths, regular and paper plates. 
2. Show the "pairs" of items to your class one at a time. Ask what happens when you finish using the items. Help students see that some items get used once and then thrown away (or recycled) while others can be used again and again!
3. Last have students get creative! Show items such as a cardboard box or glass jar and have them write about ways they could reuse one of the items.

Want a craft project to go along with this lesson?  Check out this fun reuse-it craft project!

Activity 3- Recycle

1. Consider reading a book such as The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle: A Story About Recycling by Alison Inches. 
2. Bring a variety of items (recyclables and non-recyclables) into your classroom. Some good non-recyclable items include styrofoam, fast food cups and packaging, used pizza boxes, and plastic utensils.
3. Go through the items together the first time and sort them into two groups: recyclables & trash.
4. Talk about how the non-recyclable items will go to the landfill.
5. Now sort the recyclable items into categories: glass, cans, plastics, and cardboard/paper.
6. Since you have learned all three R's, today is a good day to talk about which one is better? While recycling is good, we want students to begin to grasp that reducing and reusing is even better!

Try one of the Earth Day books for free here.

Ten More and Ten Less: Hands on Activities for First Grade

Ten More and Ten Less

Teaching ten more and ten less is a lot of fun in first grade!  There are so many fun, hands-on activities you can do with your students to work on this place value skill. 

There are a variety of skills students need to be successful with this standard:

• Can students orally count on from a given number?
• Do students have good number sense? Can they easily compare and order numbers?
• Do they understand our base-ten number system?

If not, you may need to do some pre-teaching before they are ready to mentally find 10 more and 10 less than a given number. These activities can help you build these skills.

Hands-On Activities

Use cubes to count on. Start with a given number and touch or push cubes as students count on ten more. Once students can count on ten, then work on counting back ten. You could use a simple ten frame to do this activity- or you can make it more enticing with these fun snail mail mats!

We know that students love variety, and many students learn in different ways! Cubes and fingers are another way to practice in a hands-on concrete way.

Once students can orally count on and back ten, then work on writing the numerals. This is a great way to continue building number sense. Number lines are a great way to practice. You can use a simple number line or spice it up with math mats to make it feel like a game!

After students have mastered the skill of orally counting on ten less and ten more and can write the numerals then they are ready to dive deeper into place value understandings.  

Here are some of my favorite activities:

Use Place Value Blocks

Students build a two-digit number with place value blocks. They add another "ten" to make ten more. Then they take away a "ten" to show ten less. You can use a simple two-column place value mat, or these pails are super fun!

Use a 100 or 120 Chart

I love that "aha moment" when first graders realize they can use a 100 or 120 chart and go up and down a row to find ten more and ten less! Be sure to talk with your students about why this works and how it relates to our number system. This mat is perfect for using a math link to "circle" the numbers.

Mentally Finding 10 More and Ten Less

Now that you have spent a good amount of time building students' place value understanding, most students will be ready to mentally find ten more and ten less. This is the math standard students are expected to master in first grade.

I love that this mat connects the idea of addition and subtraction to the skill. Children place a number card in the middle and then they write the ten less and ten more numbers. Students shouldn't need to "count" our goal now is automaticity. You can download a free black and white version of this mat and number cards here.

Task cards are a great way to fluency! This set comes with three sets of cards and recording sheets for three different activities to practice ten more and ten less: Scoot, Write the Room, and a Math Station. Your students will love these games!

Your students will love using these hero number mats at a center. The starting number is written in the middle and students write the ten less and ten more numbers. This is also a great small group activity.

Kids always love to play Bingo! This is another great way to work on fluency for the skill of 10 more and 10 less. It is perfect for use in small groups, or at centers.  

Want to learn more about this set?  Click here.

Check out more of my first-grade hands-on math units: