HOW DO YOU TEACH ADDITION TO KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS?

1. Start with Counting: Make sure the child can count to 10 (or more) before teaching addition.
2. Use Manipulatives: Manipulatives are physical items a child can see and touch. You can purchase things like counting bears or base 10 blocks. You can also use objects found in your home like toys, cups, or crayons. Asking a child, “What is 5 plus 3?” will mean very little if they don’t understand what plus actually means. Manipulatives will help greatly in this area.
3. Introduce Vocabulary: That brings us to the next point. When you use manipulatives you might start by laying 5 counting bears on a table and asking the child to count them. Then put 3 more on the table and ask, “How many are there now?” Once they tell you that there are 8, say, “That’s right! Five plus three equals eight!” Can you say five plus three equals eight?” Introducing vocabulary in this way will help it stick.
4. Use Visual Aids: Pictures, number lines, and ten frames are other items that will help children visualize the concept of addition.
5. Start Slow: Teach adding by adding one first. When a child can understand adding one, try adding two, three, and four. Don’t give children addition problems with answers that exceed 10 at first. Once they can count from 10-20 you can practice addition problems with answers in that range.
6. Practice, Practice, Practice:
   1. Apply addition to real life. Ask them to count the people in their house. When someone comes home, ask them, “How many are there now?”
   2. Complete the worksheets on this page.
   3. Try addition story problems.
   4. When they’re solving a problem ask them to explain what’s happening in their brain. Having them process things out loud will help solidify the concept in their mind. And if they’re doing something wrong you’ll be able to figure out what it is.

WHAT ARE SOME KINDERGARTEN ADDITION ACTIVITIES?

1. Addition Color by Number: Help your children learn to add while doing something they love – coloring!
2. Number Line Hop: Create a human-sized number line on the floor (indoor – use masking tape, outside – use chalk). Call out an addition problem for the student to act out. (Ex: Start on 4 and add 2.) To add a layer of fun make them add their spaces in different ways (hop 2, tiptoe 2, crawl 2).
3. Add with Ten Frames: Give a series of addition problems for students to represent using 10 frames. You could use two-color counters, and have the student use the two different colors for the 2 different numbers. Then add them together to find the total. Or you could laminate the 10-frame and give them dry-erase markers to write with.
4. Addition Bingo: Create “bingo” cards with the solutions to addition problems in the squares. Call out addition problems, and have the students cover the correct solutions on their cards.
5. Read Kindergarten Addition Books:
   1. “The Mission of Addition” by Brian P. Cleary
   2. “Animals on Board” by Stuart J. Murphy
   3. “If You Were a Plus Sign” by Trisha Speed Shaskan
6. Addition Free-Play:
   1. Indoor: Give students a series of addition problems and something to build with, like legos or playdough. Have them build the addition problems to find the solutions.
   2. Outdoor: Use sidewalk chalk to draw addition problems outside. Combine this with one of the other activities above.

WHAT ARE SOME FUN GAMES FOR TEACHING KINDERGARTEN ADDITION?

1. Addition War: Take a deck of cards and remove the face cards. Divide the deck evenly between two students. Have each student flip two cards and add them together. The student with the higher sum gets all four cards. Keep playing this way until one person has all the cards or set a time limit.
2. Roll, Write, and Add: Give each child two dice and a sheet of paper. Have them roll the dice and write the addition problem on their paper. Solve it and do it again!
3. Fill the Cup: Give each student a cup and several objects such as bear counters or craft pom poms. Call out an addition problem. Have them write down (or tell you) the solution and put the corresponding number of objects in their cup. Continue until their cup is full.
4. Addition Bowling: Set up a bowling game, and label each pin with a number. Have the student roll the ball and add up the numbers on all the pins that were knocked down. Depending on the numbers you use, this could be a good option for younger students as well as older.

WHAT ARE SOME HANDS-ON MATERIALS FOR TEACHING KINDERGARTEN ADDITION?

1. Counting Bears
2. Base 10 Blocks
3. Two-Color Counters
4. Ten Frames
5. Number Lines
6. Math Manipulative Kits: These will frequently include many, if not all, of the items listed above.