Number bonds to 10
Worksheet + game · PDF · free
Number bonds to 10 are the pairs that total ten: 1 and 9, 2 and 8, 3 and 7, 4 and 6, 5 and 5. They underpin addition and subtraction within ten and feed bonds to 20 and 100 later. Use ten frames so children see gaps to fill. When you show 7, ask what is missing to make a full row of ten. Say pairs aloud both ways — '7 and 3' and '3 and 7'. Speed comes from recognition, not counting on fingers every time. This is foundation work for column addition, bridging ten, and mental subtraction.
Worked example
Put 7 counters on a ten frame. Three spaces are empty, so 7 + 3 = 10. The bond pair is 7 and 3. Reverse it: 3 + 7 = 10 as well.
Watch for this
Counting up from 7 on fingers — 8, 9, 10 — every time means the pair is not yet known. Hide the frame briefly and ask again; aim for instant '3' without counting.
Print this skill
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Same facts, played
A short game that drills the same idea after the page is printed.