Addition and subtraction within 10 - Fact families addition - Starter

In a Year 1 mathematics lesson, students are introduced to the concept of addition and subtraction within 10, focusing on fact families and addition. The lesson, set in the Autumn Term's sixth week on the second day, begins with a "Fluent in Four" revision exercise that encourages children to practice their mental arithmetic skills. To aid in their learning, each child is provided with 10 counters, which serve as a tactile tool to help them visualise and solve the problems presented.

The activities are designed to be interactive and engaging. For example, one task asks students to determine the total number of spots on a set of dominoes with 1, 2, and 3 spots, reinforcing their addition skills. Another exercise involves solving subtraction problems, such as finding the difference between 10 and 8. Additionally, students are prompted to sort buttons, an activity that can have various answers based on characteristics such as colour, shape, or size. This is followed by a task where students use a part-whole model to create four related addition sentences, helping them understand the relationship between numbers in a fact family. For instance, they explore different ways to combine 1 and 6 to reach the sum of 7, such as "1 + 6 = 7" and "7 = 6 + 1". This approach to learning addition and subtraction within 10 lays a solid foundation for their mathematical understanding.