Two numbers that make ten together are called partners to ten.
Step 1: Let's Learn
Read it, or press Listen and follow the words.
The gaps tell you
Put 6 counters in a ten-frame. The empty spaces show you need 4 more.
Ten is special. Knowing partners to ten makes adding much easier later.
Step 2: Try It Yourself
Change the counters. Watch the empty spaces.
7 and 3 make 10. There are 3 empty spaces.
7 beads moved across in total.
How many
5 and 2 make 7.
Step 3: In Real Life
Bowling
Ten pins stand at the end. You knock down 7. How many are left? 3. Partners to ten tell you fast.
Step 4: Watch an Example
Watch the gaps do the work.
Watch Mia Find a Partner
Mia wants to know how many more 3 needs to make ten.
- Step 1
She puts 3 counters in the frame.
3 and 7 make 10. There are 7 empty spaces.
Counters
Step 5: Your Turn
Practice makes it stick.
Egg Box
Problem 1 of 1
An egg box holds 10. There are 6 eggs in it. How many more fit?
Partner Practice
Answer without counting if you can.
1 of 3
8 and what make 10?
2 of 3
5 and what make 10?
3 of 3
9 and what make 10?
Slide the Beads
Build it, then check.
Slide 7 beads across.
0 beads moved across in total.
How many
Step 6: Quick Check
Show what you know.
Question 1 of 2
How many more would make ten?
Counters
Question 2 of 2
7 and what make 10?
What You Learned
- Partners to ten are two numbers that make ten.
- The empty spaces in a ten-frame are the answer.
- Knowing these by heart makes adding easier.
For the grown-up
Counting and knowing how many are different skills. A child can recite to twenty and still recount a row of six every time they are asked, because the last number said has not yet become the answer to "how many".
Watch for recounting. If they count a group, are asked how many, and start again from one, the link has not formed yet. It is extremely common at this age and is not a memory problem.
When it happens, count together slowly and then close your hand over the group and ask again. Hiding the objects is what forces the number to stand in for them.
Why ten gets its own lesson — Our whole number system is built on ten. Knowing what each number needs to reach ten is the shortcut behind almost every later addition.
You are measuring the gap — The partner is the empty space in the ten frame. You are not counting beads — you are counting holes.
Count the holes, not the counters — Put 6 counters in the ten frame. Now do not count the counters. Count the empty spaces. One, two, three, four. Four more would fill it. 6 and 4 are partners to ten.