MR. AUBE AND FRIENDS · MATH TOGETHER

Build tens and ones

Explain a two-digit number as groups of ten and leftover ones. Try a little together and stop whenever you need.

Get ready

Twenty-three counters and two small mats, or blocks that join into tens.

Count out 23 counters. Make two groups of ten, with three counters left over.
Say: “Each group has ten. Ten, twenty, then twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three.”
Write 23. Point to the 2: “Two tens means twenty.” Point to the 3: “Three ones means three.” Write 20 + 3 = 23.

“What does the 2 in 23 tell us about the counters?”

Start with ten loose counters. Make one group of ten, then add one loose counter to build 11.

Sort a small collection of blocks into groups of ten and leftovers. Write its number together and explain what each digit means.

Show 23 as two tens and three ones, then as one ten and thirteen ones. Explain why both still show 23.

Let your child show, draw or tell you how they worked it out. One answer is a starting point for a conversation.

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