Description
Help students build strong number sense as they explore combinations to 10 with hands-on Making 10 activities, addition games, ten frames, math centers, and assessments designed for Kindergarten and 1st grade.
Making 10 is more than memorizing addition facts.
Ten is an important benchmark students can use to reason about numbers. When students understand how 10 can be composed and decomposed, they begin seeing relationships they can use for addition, subtraction, place value, and future mental math.
This resource gives students repeated opportunities to build 10, practice combinations to 10, use ten frames and manipulatives, and explain the number relationships they notice.
A teacher-friendly Making 10 Learning Progression helps you choose the activities and practice that match what you notice in your students’ thinking. Use the activities during whole-group math, number talks, small groups, intervention, or independent math centers.
⭐ Making 10 Learning Progression
Activities are organized around three stages of student thinking:
BUILD 10
Students build, break apart, and represent 10 in different ways while beginning to see 10 as a whole made of smaller parts.
PRACTICE COMBINATIONS TO 10
Students get repeated practice with combinations that make 10 through familiar, low-prep games and routines.
MODEL & EXPLAIN RELATIONSHIPS
Students use ten frames, equations, manipulatives, and words to show and explain how two parts make 10.
The goal isn’t speed. It’s helping students see 10 as a structure they understand, trust, and can use flexibly.
🧮 Included in This Making 10 Resource
Teacher Support + Assessments
- Making 10 Learning Progression
- Teacher directions and instructional prompts
- Building 10 Quick Check
- Knowing Combinations to 10 Quick Check
- Modeling & Explaining 10 Quick Check
Making 10 Activities & Routines
- Build It with Cubes
- Shake & Spill
- Making 10 Hand Game
- Number Combinations
- Ten Flashing Fireflies activity
- Making 10 Hand Craftivity
Making 10 Games & Math Centers
- Making 10 Go Fish
- Making 10 Solitaire
- Roll & Make 10
- Flip & Add
- 4 in a Row
- Connect 4
Ten Frames, Number Cards & Math Tools
- 10 Frame Mats
- 20 Frame Mats
- Addition and subtraction equation options
- Combinations to 10 Cards
- Number combination recording pages
Additional Practice & Extensions
- Making 20 activities
- Number combination chains for 10, 15, and 20
- 10 Frame Song lyrics + video link
- Additional addition games and practice
👩🏫 Perfect For Kindergarten and 1st grade teachers can use these Making 10 activities for math centers, small-group math, number talks, intervention, whole-group lessons, morning work, or extra addition practice.
Students can use counters, connecting cubes, fingers, ten frames, and other visual models as they develop their understanding. The activities are designed to be reused as students become more confident recognizing and explaining combinations that make 10.
💡 Why Making 10 Matters
Students don’t need another stack of addition facts to memorize.
They need opportunities to see how numbers fit together.
Building a strong understanding of combinations to 10 gives students an important foundation for addition and subtraction fluency, number relationships, place value, and mental math strategies they’ll continue using as the numbers get bigger.
Structure first. Confidence follows.
✅ Download the preview for a closer look at the Making 10 activities, math games, assessments, and teacher support included in this resource!










Malasia M. –
This was a great tool to use for math centers to work independently on. This is another strategy to use with students and allow for manipulatives for visual learning.
Kelli Gross –
This is the perfect resource to help build mathamatical fluency.
Jennifer G –
Great use of manipulatives to demonstrate adding ten to a given number. This helped make the concept concrete for students.
Heather K. –
My students loved adding these to our math center. Highly recommend.
monika S. –
We cannot get this resource to print
Help
Says it is outside the margins and we can’t change it
This resource will NOT print
Someone needs to either give me a refund or fix it
Katrina H. –
This resource was easy to use, well organized, and a great addition to my classroom. The directions were clear, and the activities required little preparation. I appreciated how easily I could adapt the material to my students’ different needs, skill levels, and learning goals. It saved me planning time while keeping students engaged and focused. I would recommend this resource to teachers looking for a practical, flexible, and classroom-friendly activity. Thank you for creating and sharing it!!
tara H. –
great for constant practice because this is the basis math skill for everything else we teac in first grade
Colorful Learning by Ms. Kyla –
Everything was clear, organized, and easy to follow. I appreciate the quality of this resource.
Darla D. –
I used these games for MTSS groups. Easy prep and engaging!
Jennifer C. –
Quick and easy activities to learn about making 10 and keeps students engaged.
Marley H. –
Good tool for numeracy resistant number learners. Good for hands-on learning and making learning fun through games.
maria M. –
Fun activities for the kids. Loved the hands we did that.
Crystal A. –
Great supplemental resource for independent work in group rotations
Tasha F. –
My students really liked this and so did I. It was easy to use !
Nancy I. –
Excellent and fun activity for first grade students.
Mary M. –
a great resource for centers. Students were able to use this in mats