Why ten specifically, and not some other number?

Because our number system is built on tens, so almost every mental shortcut passes through one. Adding 8 + 5 by taking 2 from the 5 to fill the 8 up to ten, subtracting back down through ten, and adding two-digit numbers all assume the ten partners are instant.

My child uses fingers to find each partner. When should that stop?

It stops on its own, and pushing usually slows things down. Fingers are how a child checks a fact they half know, and recall grows out of using the pairs repeatedly rather than out of being denied the check. You want the checking getting rarer, not banned.

What should I do while my child plays?

Say the pairs aloud as they clear, both ways round: three and seven make ten, seven and three make ten. It takes seconds and does two jobs, putting the fact into their ears and quietly making the point that order does not matter. Beyond that, let them play.

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Make Ten

Find the two cards that add to ten.

Grades K-2 · Number bonds to ten, the key mental-math strategy

How to play

1A grid of number cards appears.
2Tap two cards that add up to exactly ten.
3Clear matching pairs to empty the board.
4Fewer taps and faster clears build a better score.

Try a few

A card on the board shows 6. Which card clears it?
Answer: 4
Picture a ten frame, two rows of five boxes. Put six counters in and the boxes still empty are the answer: four. Counting up from six gets there too, but the empty boxes are quicker, because you see them at once instead of tracking how many counts you made.
A card shows 0. Does it have a partner on this board?
Answer: Yes, the 10
Zero and ten is one of the pairs this game deals, and it surprises children the first time. Nothing plus everything still makes ten. The pair earns its place, because it is often the first time a child uses zero as a number to add rather than a word for empty.
Your child taps the 4 and the 5. The cards flash red.
Answer: 4 and 5 make 9, not 10
This near miss is the most common wrong tap on the board, one count short rather than a wild guess. Counting on from four, a child who says five, six, seven, eight, nine while lifting five fingers arrives at nine and feels finished. The partner for 4 is 6.

Why this game helps

Almost every fast mental-math strategy a child will ever use runs through ten. Adding 8 + 5 by making a ten first, subtracting through ten, adding two-digit numbers by bridging the tens: all of it depends on instantly knowing which pairs make ten. A child who has to count up to find that 6 needs 4 will be too slow for those strategies to help. Turning the ten-bonds into a quick matching game builds the instant recall those later strategies quietly assume, so when the harder work arrives, the ten-partner is already there without thinking.

If your child finds this hard

Nearly every wrong tap on this board is one short rather than random: 4 with 5, or 6 with 5, pairs that make nine. Children most often exactly this, a child counting up to ten and losing one count on the way. Ask them to recount with the starting number held on a fist and every count after it on a finger, so the start is never counted as a step.

Another documented pattern is a child who taps a 6 and then hunts for a second 6, repeating the number they were handed instead of finding what is missing from it. Draw a ten frame on paper, two rows of five squares, and keep it beside the screen. Put six marks in, then count the empty squares together. After a few rounds children see the gap without the drawing.

If the pairs come slowly, it helps to know how few there are. Ten splits five ways, and once you know 1 with 9, 2 with 8, 3 with 7, 4 with 6 and 5 with itself, plus zero with ten, you know them all. Children often treat 3 and 7 as a different fact from 7 and 3, which teachers see too, so say it both ways each time.

Common questions

Why ten specifically, and not some other number?: Because our number system is built on tens, so almost every mental shortcut passes through one. Adding 8 + 5 by taking 2 from the 5 to fill the 8 up to ten, subtracting back down through ten, and adding two-digit numbers all assume the ten partners are instant.
My child uses fingers to find each partner. When should that stop?: It stops on its own, and pushing usually slows things down. Fingers are how a child checks a fact they half know, and recall grows out of using the pairs repeatedly rather than out of being denied the check. You want the checking getting rarer, not banned.
What should I do while my child plays?: Say the pairs aloud as they clear, both ways round: three and seven make ten, seven and three make ten. It takes seconds and does two jobs, putting the fact into their ears and quietly making the point that order does not matter. Beyond that, let them play.

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