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!










Lindsay B. –
This resource was great to use in class. The students really enjoyed playing shake and spill.
LoloLovesIt –
Great resource!
Education Magnified –
Great resource to use with my students. Thank you!
Dana McCampbell –
My students loved this activity. Thank you
A First for Everything –
You can never go wrong with one of her resources! Making ten is such an important concept in first grade. This really broke down the concept into many easy to implement lessons that were so easy to implement. They were meaningful and fun.
Lisa S. –
Great for interventions!!!
Amanda S. –
Kids enjoy it…use it at stations
Amy L. –
My kiddos love the Go Fish! I wish the ten frame had an option to have equal to instead of same as. Thanks for all you do!
Kerry Simmons –
I loved the convenience of having centers already done for me and all I had to do was print and put them together!
Cynthia P. –
Great resource!
Kelly D. –
Great way for students to practice making ten and math facts!
Classroom Resources all ages –
Loved this resource!
Jane O. –
Thank you!
Shauna H. –
This is a super helpful resource to teach students various ways to make 10. My students loved the various activities. The activities were engaging and many had a more thorough understanding of this concept after we used this resource! Thank-you for creating this resource!
Elizabeth B. –
Thank you for all the various games to practice making 10 and 20.
I just kept spiraling around to the skill with different games.
Jessica Harrington –
Great resource for my first graders!