Counting Heroes: Adding and Subtracting to 10
Captain Count needs YOUR help! Every hero on Team Ten has a superpower — some can add, some can subtract — and today you're going to learn both powers so you can join the team. Get ready to count, add, and take away, all the way up to the number 10!
What You'll Learn
By the end of this lesson you will be able to: - Count objects up to 10 without skipping any - Add two small groups together to find the total - Subtract (take away) a smaller group from a bigger one - Use your fingers or objects to solve number problems
Meet the Counting Heroes
Every number from 1 to 10 is a hero on the team. Hero 1 is small but mighty. Hero 10 is the strongest — it's made of two hands of fingers, 5 and 5 put together! When you count out loud — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 — you're calling each hero to line up in order, and each one only gets called once.
Adding Powers: Putting Groups Together
Adding means putting two groups together to make one bigger group. If you have 3 apples in one hand and 2 apples in the other hand, adding means counting all of them together: 3 and 2 makes 5. We write this as 3 + 2 = 5. The plus sign (+) is the secret symbol that means 'put together.' Try it with your fingers: hold up 4 fingers on one hand and 3 on the other, then count all the fingers up — 4 + 3 = 7!
Subtracting Powers: Taking Away
Subtracting means starting with a group and taking some away. If you have 8 stickers and give 3 away to a friend, you take away 3 from 8. We write this as 8 - 3 = 5. The minus sign (-) means 'take away.' To solve it with your fingers, hold up 8 fingers, then put down 3 of them, and count how many are still up: 5!
Whenever a subtraction problem feels tricky, try turning it into an addition question instead. For 8 - 3, ask yourself: '3 plus what number makes 8?' Counting up from 3 to 8 (4, 5, 6, 7, 8 — that's 5 counts) gives you the same answer, 5!
You have 6 building blocks. Your friend gives you 3 more. How many blocks do you have now?
You have 10 crayons. You lose 4 of them under the couch. How many crayons do you have left?
Hero Count-and-Solve Hunt
Find 10 small objects around your home, like toy cars, coins, or spoons. Split them into two groups any way you like and write down the addition sentence for putting them back together (for example, 4 + 6 = 10). Then take away a few objects from your pile of 10 and write the subtraction sentence for what's left (for example, 10 - 3 = 7). Do this three times with different groupings and show your three addition sentences and three subtraction sentences to a grown-up.
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