🔢 MathLevel 1Lesson 14
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Making 10 Combinations
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Learning Objectives
- 1Find all the pairs of numbers that add up to 10
- 2Use combinations of 10 to add quickly
- 3Use combinations of 10 to help with subtraction
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Mini Lesson
Every number has a special friend that helps it reach 10 — and knowing these pairs makes adding much faster!
What are combinations of 10?
- Two numbers are a combination of 10 when they add up to exactly 10.
- Example: 6 + 4 = 10.
- There are 11 combinations in all: 0+10, 1+9, 2+8, 3+7, 4+6, 5+5, 6+4, 7+3, 8+2, 9+1, 10+0.
Why are they useful?
- When you know 7 + 3 = 10, you can solve problems with 10 in seconds.
- These pairs are sometimes called ten-frame friends or friends of 10.
Order does not change the sum
- 6 + 4 = 10 and 4 + 6 = 10 — they are the same pair, just flipped.
- This is called the commutative property — the order of addends does not change the total.
Spotting the missing partner
- If you see 10 − 3, think: "What goes with 3 to make 10?" → 7!
- Knowing combinations of 10 also helps with subtraction.
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Ask yourself: "Which two numbers add up to 10? Can I think of all the pairs?"
Vocabulary
Combination of 10
Two numbers that add up to exactly 10e.g. 6 + 4 = 10
Ten-frame
A grid with 10 spaces used to show numbers and pairse.g. 6 filled + 4 empty = 10
Commutative
The order of addends does not change the sume.g. 6 + 4 = 4 + 6
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