Goal 1 Add/Subtract

Goal 1 – Ways to make 4 and 5











1+3, 2+2, 3+1, 1+4, 2+3, 3+2, 4+1




4-1, 4-3, 4-2, 5-1, 5-4, 5-2, 5-3






Concrete Routines




1)    Show Me – have students, on one hand, show 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.  Do this routine for 1 or 2 minutes per day until they are able to do this automatically.









2)   Abacus Show Me – have some students show 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 on the abacus while other students show on one hand. 









3)   All the Ways -  Have 4 or 5 students stand in front of the class on the right side of the room – this represents 4=0+4.  Have one student at a time walk to a designated area on the left side of the room.  Have the students in the class choral chant 4=1+3, 4=2+2, 4=3+1, 4=4+0.  Use this same procedure for ways to make 5.  (Note: in order to help students understand the that = means the same value on both sides, it’s important to expose students to the operations on the right as well as the left, and also to equations such as 4=4.)













4)   One Hand Choral – have students use one hand to model addition problems first (1+3 makes, 2+3 makes, …).  As students become fluent with the addition facts, have students use one hand to model subtraction problems (4-1 makes, 4-3 makes, 5-2 makes, …).




5)   Abacus Choral – have student(s) model addition problems first, and then addition and subtraction problems interchangeably.



6)   Snap Cube Student Leaders – have one or more students use snap cubes (unifix, multilink, …) to model ways to make 4 and 5 and lead students in choral responses such as “4+1 makes” and “5-4 makes”.




Representational Routines




7)   Ten Frame Choral – show students ways to make 4 and 5 on ten-frame cards and use choral response – “1+3 makes”.  You can find ten-frame cards at http://www.wsd1.org/pc_math/Dot%20Card%20and%20Ten%20Frame%20Package2005.pdf.









8)  Part-Whole Grid Choral – show students a part-whole grid (see FactsWise Part-Whole Resources) for a way to make 4 or 5 and have students state both the addition and subtraction relationships while you write them on the board.





1+3=4    3+1=4    4-1=3    4-3=1

4=1+3    4=3+1    3=4-1    1=4-3




Abstract Routines




9)   Snap Facts – Say a fact such as “2+3 makes” and then use a hand signal for wait.  Give students 2 or 3 seconds to process, and then snap your fingers, at which time students will choral respond with the answer.  Watch carefully for facts where some students are delaying their answers, and repeat those several times before you end the activity.  Remember to spend more time on subtraction facts than you do on addition facts!