Make a Ten to Add Worksheets for 1st Grade

Home › 1st Grade › Math

Download PDF worksheetAnswer key (PDF)Worksheet + answer key (2 pages)

Prints on one US Letter page; the answer key is a separate page. Print at 100% / "Actual size" on US Letter paper. Free for personal and classroom use. Version 1 of 10. Choose another version.

Grade 1MathAddition & SubtractionCCSS 1.OA.C.6

Skill: Adding one-digit numbers by making a ten (sums 11-18)

Preview of the Make a Ten to Add printable worksheet
Page 1 preview (US Letter PDF)

Teaching tips and what to try next

Try this once first graders know every pair that adds to ten, so review Number Bonds to 10 first if those pairs are still slow. A ten-frame and a handful of counters let your child physically slide counters across to fill the frame. Afterward, mix strategies with Doubles and Near Doubles Addition.

10 versions, each with its own answer key

Same skill and layout, a fresh set of problems in every version, so children can keep practicing without repeating a page. Problems are not repeated between versions unless a skill has only a small number of possible problems (for example, the addition facts within 10).

Download all 10 versions (one PDF)All 10 answer keys (PDF)

Related worksheets

About this worksheet

Making a ten is one of the most useful mental math strategies in first grade. To add 8 + 5, a child can move 2 from the 5 to the 8 to make 10, and then add the 3 that is left: 10 + 3 = 13. Adding to 10 is easy, so this strategy turns hard facts into simple ones. This first-grade worksheet practices it step by step.

Each page has twelve facts with two one-digit numbers from 2 to 9 and a sum from 11 to 18. Each fact is written as a short chain, such as 8 + 5 = 10 + ___ = ___. Children fill in what is left after making the ten in the first blank and the final sum in the second blank. There are 36 facts of this kind in all, and the ten versions are planned so that all 36 appear before any fact repeats.

How to use it: first make sure your child knows the pairs that make 10, such as 8 and 2 or 7 and 3. Then model one fact with a ten-frame or with counters: fill the ten-frame with the bigger number, move counters from the smaller number until the frame is full, and count what is left over. Say the steps out loud: "8 needs 2 more to make 10. 5 take away 2 is 3. 10 and 3 is 13." After a few rows, many children can do the steps in their heads.

The answer key shows both numbers for every fact. To review the pairs that make 10, try our Number Bonds to 10 worksheet. For mixed practice, try our Addition Within 20 worksheet.