Know teens are ten and ‘the rest’

The CanDoMaths ArithmeKit by Buzzard Publishing is a comprehensive resource designed to help children understand the composition of teen numbers as a combination of ten and additional ones. In the activity titled "Know teens are ten and 'the rest'", students are invited to explore this concept through a series of exercises. They are tasked with filling in missing digits to complete equations that break down teen numbers into ten plus the remaining ones. For example, the number 16 is deconstructed into ten and six ones, while 13 is broken down into ten and three ones. This hands-on approach encourages students to recognise patterns and create their own challenges to deepen their understanding.

A complementary activity involves finding matching pairs that connect teen numbers with their components of tens and ones. For instance, 18 matches with 10 and 8, while 17 pairs with 10 and 7. This visual and interactive method helps reinforce the concept of teen numbers being composed of a ten and additional unit values. Additionally, students are prompted to consider whether there is more than one way to solve a problem and how many different digits can be used, further enhancing their numerical fluency and problem-solving skills. The ArithmeKit also includes scenarios, such as helping a character named Colin figure out if he has enough money to buy an item, which adds a practical application to the mathematical concepts being taught.