There’s something magical about number bonds that captivates the young minds of first graders! Number bonds make the mathematical relationship of parts and a whole easy to understand. Students feel like real Math Masters as they manipulate numbers with ease. Teaching number bonds will set a strong math foundation for your favorite first graders for years to come!
What Are Number Bonds?
Before you jump straight to exciting ways to teach number bonds, take a second to refresh your mind about all things number bonds…
Number bonds are a visual representation that shows how a whole number can be split into parts. They are shown using three circles connected by lines: one for the whole number and two for the parts.
As students see the relationship between numbers, they have a concrete way to understand addition and subtraction.
Why Teaching Number Bonds is Important
Number bonds give your favorite firsties a strong understanding about how numbers relate to one another.
They help students:
- Develop number sense
- Understand addition and subtraction
- Build math confidence
- Improve problem-solving skills
Number Sense
Number sense is an essential basic math skill. It is the ability to understand and manipulate numbers. To have a solid understanding of number sense, students should be able to recognize the size of a number and how numbers relate to each other.
Number bonds are a fantastic tool to use to help students develop number sense since they visually show how numbers can be composed and decomposed.
Composing and Decomposing Numbers
Composition is a fundamental skill for later learning about addition. Students learn to combine smaller parts to form a larger whole.
2 + 3 = 5
1 + 7 = 8
4 + 5 = 9
Decomposition is the reverse process: breaking down a whole number into smaller parts. This skill is essential for understanding subtraction!
5 = 2 + 3
8 = 1 + 7
9 = 4 + 5
Tips for Teaching Composing and Decomposing Numbers
First, as you introduce and teach these concepts to your students, use their technical names. It’s important for first graders to understand key math vocabulary.
Next, be silly! Say “decomposing” in a robot voice and pretend to be a robot pulling something into two pieces. Your students will remember the term right away— and probably echo it back to you often all year!
Incorporate manipulatives as you teach number bonds to help students visual what it means to compose or decompose a number. At the beginning of the year, use lots of manipulatives— unifix cubes, counters, counting bears, crayons, magnets, and seasonal items.
When students understand composing and decomposing numbers, their math confidence and problem-solving skills will soar!
Teaching Number Bonds with 4 Fun Activities
As you know, hands-on learning is essential with firsties! Use these 4 fun activities while teaching number bonds to keep your students excited and engaged in learning:
- Decomposing Doggie
- Work Mats & Manipulatives
- Kid-friendly Worksheets
- Digital Options
1. Decomposing Doggie
When you start teaching about number bonds, get your students super excited by telling them you’re getting a class pet! Set up a dog bed and treat jar before the school day begins and wait until math time to introduce the pet: Whole the Decomposing Doggie!
Your students will be so eager to give him treats and visit him during math centers throughout the day. Whole, the Decomposing Doggie, sleeps in a dog bed by the window each day and wakes up just in time for math centers to begin!
Easily stick him to the filing cabinet or other magnetic surface with magnets and give him plenty of treats for the day. Use the recording sheet in a dry erase sleeve so you can keep using the same page again and again!
This number sense activity is great hands-on practice that your students will LOVE!
These Number Dog printables highlight Whole, the Decomposing Doggie, and include:
- Work mats with color and black & white printing options
- Printable counters
- Worksheets
Students practice part-part-whole using these kid-friendly worksheets in whole group practice, small group lessons, math interventions, and so much more!
2. Work Mats & Manipulatives
Next, keep learning fresh throughout the whole school year by using themed work mats and seasonal manipulatives!
Fall Number Bond Activities
When it’s back to school time, use apple-themed work mats and white magnets as seeds to practice composing and decomposing numbers.
Incorporate gummy worms or rubber worms as fun manipulatives, and the giggles will surely be endless in your classroom!
Winter Number Bond Activities
When wintertime approaches, change your students’ work mats to snowflake or holiday-themed ones!
Use seasonal items like mini snowmen or other holiday decorations as manipulatives to keep the fun going.
Spring Number Bond Activities
For spring, use flower or bug-themed work mats and switch manipulatives to colorful counters or small spring-themed toys!
3. Kid-friendly Worksheets
Use hands-on number sense worksheets to make teaching number bonds to 10 a breeze for you and fun for your students!
Number Bonds to 10 Worksheets & Assessments
These Number Bonds to 10 Worksheets are perfect to use for morning work, early finishers, math centers, and guided math.
Choose from the included 23 practice pages to work on the following skills:
- Decomposing Numbers
- Composing Numbers
- Addition
- Subtraction
- Missing Addends / Missing Part
Simple assessments are included in these kid-friendly worksheets too!
4. Digital Options
Finally, use digital options to practice all of these important foundational math skills! Your firsties will love interacting with the engaging slides while getting immediate feedback from the activities and you!
Interactive, digital learning options allow young children to learn in a hands-on way as they touch, move, and actively participate while learning and reviewing information.
Use the Number Bonds to 20 Digital Resource to practice number sense, composing, decomposing, addition, subtraction, and more with Whole, the Decomposing Doggie! This resource works with PowerPoint and Google Slides and includes blank sides to allow for easy differentiation.
Find this Decomposing Doggie digital resource in the number bond digital bundle too!
How to Differentiate While Teaching Number Bonds
Differentiation is a crucial to meet the diverse needs of your students, and it’s not hard to do while teaching number bonds!
Keep students engaged and learning at level that best suits them by providing more support or by making number bonds more challenging.
For More Support
- Choose smaller numbers to simplify the concept
- Provide physical counters or manipulatives to aid in understanding
- Use clear, step-by-step instructions
For a Challenge
- Introduce larger numbers to increase complexity
- Encourage students to write matching expressions and create fact families
- Incorporate problem-solving scenarios that require deeper thinking
More Thoughts on Manipulatives
Math doesn’t have to be fancy, but it should be fun!
When working in a small group, it’s a perfect time to use a work mat with counters, counting bears, or unifix cubes.
For independent work time, encourage your kiddos to use crayons, glue sticks, or markers at their desks as manipulatives. It’s been helpful for them to practice problem solving with materials that are always available.
Common core standards emphasize learning how to solve problems in a real world way so this ensures your students can find their own manipulatives. (Very few families have counting bears and unifix cubes at home!)
One More Fun Math Idea
Check out Math & Move: Number Bond Movement Game for another fun way to teach number sense to your students while you get them moving!
If you’re not familiar with this exciting and interactive math game, read more about Math & Move here!
Number bonds are so much more than a simple math tool— they are a gateway to understanding the deeper relationships between numbers. By making number bonds engaging and accessible to all students, you help them build a solid foundation in math that will serve them throughout their academic journey!
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