How to Add

Get comfortable with the concept of adding., Learn the number pairs., Pair any numbers you can., Add multiples of 10 and extras., Double check using your hands!

5 Steps 2 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Get comfortable with the concept of adding.

    Take a handful of beans (or other small objects).

    Set one bean aside at a time into a pile and count each one as you go (1, 2, 3, etc).

    Stop after you have a few beans in the pile.

    How many did you put there? Write that number down.

    Now, do the same thing but make another pile.

    Now, put the two piles together.

    How many do you have now? You can count up each bean, one at a time, and find out! This is adding! For example, your first pile might have 5 beans.

    Then your second pile might have 3 beans.

    When you put the two piles together and count all the beans, you'll find that you now have 8 beans! This is because 5 + 3 is
    8.
  2. Step 2: Learn the number pairs.

    Since most people base counting on sets of ten and numbers divisible by ten, you can make adding much easier by learning what number pairs add up to ten.

    Examples include: 1+9, 2+8, 3+7, 4+6, and 5+5. , Pair up as many of the numbers that you have as possible, in order to make sets of ten.

    Let's say you're adding this string of numbers: 2, 16, 9, 3, 5,
    18.

    You can pair the 2 with the 18 to get
    20. 4 pairs nicely with 6, so take 4 from the 5 and add it to the 16 to get another
    20.

    Then you have 1 (left over after getting 4 from the 5), which you can add to the 9 to get
    10. , Count the numbers that you have by hand or in your head, starting from the sets of ten that you have.

    Oops, in the picture there is a 6 instead of 16; so, that picture has 10 fewer than the number added above and explained below.

    In the example from the previous step, you have the 3 extra, after the 50 you already counted up from the paired numbers making 20, plus the other 20 plus 10 and adding 3 extra for a total of 53 (your answer).

    That was pretty easy to add in your head as: 20 + 20 = 40, and 10 more = 50, so 50 + 3 = 53 (of course you could say "20 is 2 tens"

    and "20 and 20 is 4 tens"

    now "plus 10 makes 5 tens which is 50"

    then "plus 3" is 53). , When you can, you can always double check your math using your fingers or another method, such as making marks to keep extra ones and for groups of 5 and
    10.

    Players often add tally marks for keeping the score/"the tally" in a game such as dominoes.
  3. Step 3: Pair any numbers you can.

  4. Step 4: Add multiples of 10 and extras.

  5. Step 5: Double check using your hands!

Detailed Guide

Take a handful of beans (or other small objects).

Set one bean aside at a time into a pile and count each one as you go (1, 2, 3, etc).

Stop after you have a few beans in the pile.

How many did you put there? Write that number down.

Now, do the same thing but make another pile.

Now, put the two piles together.

How many do you have now? You can count up each bean, one at a time, and find out! This is adding! For example, your first pile might have 5 beans.

Then your second pile might have 3 beans.

When you put the two piles together and count all the beans, you'll find that you now have 8 beans! This is because 5 + 3 is
8.

Since most people base counting on sets of ten and numbers divisible by ten, you can make adding much easier by learning what number pairs add up to ten.

Examples include: 1+9, 2+8, 3+7, 4+6, and 5+5. , Pair up as many of the numbers that you have as possible, in order to make sets of ten.

Let's say you're adding this string of numbers: 2, 16, 9, 3, 5,
18.

You can pair the 2 with the 18 to get
20. 4 pairs nicely with 6, so take 4 from the 5 and add it to the 16 to get another
20.

Then you have 1 (left over after getting 4 from the 5), which you can add to the 9 to get
10. , Count the numbers that you have by hand or in your head, starting from the sets of ten that you have.

Oops, in the picture there is a 6 instead of 16; so, that picture has 10 fewer than the number added above and explained below.

In the example from the previous step, you have the 3 extra, after the 50 you already counted up from the paired numbers making 20, plus the other 20 plus 10 and adding 3 extra for a total of 53 (your answer).

That was pretty easy to add in your head as: 20 + 20 = 40, and 10 more = 50, so 50 + 3 = 53 (of course you could say "20 is 2 tens"

and "20 and 20 is 4 tens"

now "plus 10 makes 5 tens which is 50"

then "plus 3" is 53). , When you can, you can always double check your math using your fingers or another method, such as making marks to keep extra ones and for groups of 5 and
10.

Players often add tally marks for keeping the score/"the tally" in a game such as dominoes.

About the Author

B

Brian Shaw

Dedicated to helping readers learn new skills in organization and beyond.

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