Friends of Ten School Edition app for iPhone and iPad

Friends of Ten School Edition is an activity to be used in the early years of schooling to introduce an early understanding of numbers to ten, counting objects to ten, subitising - recognising a collection of objects without counting them, counting on from a higher number, partitioning of objects and the combinations that make ten 8+2, 2+8, 1+9, 3+7 etc. These skills underpin mental addition and subtraction.

The importance of recalling number combinations that make ten are that students use strategies for addition, that is, knowing that 7+3 is the same as 8+2. This introduces the idea of patterns and compensation. These activities develop the concept that addition and subtraction are linked.

Friends of Ten School Edition can be used in the traditional classroom to collaborate with a small group or used by individual learners. The task can to be used 2 or 3 times a week for a few minutes each time over a period of time. The students are therefore familiar with the structure of the activity but the challenge is new each time. This technique allows students to construct their own learning.

The App is broken up into a number of sections. A teaching module and independent tasks to reinforce skills.

-Tens Frame

Teaching module - a blank form with counters to be used with teacher interaction

-Show me

Independent or collaborative task to create a given number on the Tens frame

-How many?
Independent or collaborative count, recognize and move counters to make it easier to count.

-Friends of Ten

Independent or collaborative

-How many less?

Independent or collaborative



-How many more?

Independent or collaborative
Recognising and Making Numbers