Teaching Addition and Subtraction to 100 in First Grade

Teaching Addition and Subtraction to 100 in First Grade

Hey, y'all! You've worked hard on number sense all year. Your firsties have it down pat. Now it's time to take it a step further and work on adding and subtracting bigger numbers.

As a class, we practice finding 10 more and 10 less of a number everyday during math warmup. Gradually we get better and start finding 20 more, and 30 more. And our conversations about place value get bigger and more complex. We add on just a few more to a number, and take a few away. But then students have to be able to show they can do this on their own. That's where this unit comes in.

This 1st Grade Big Numbers Unit is a four week culmination of everything they worked on in math this year as far as adding and subtracting are concerned. The first week, students practice adding and subtracting a 1-digit number with a 2-digit number.

Students visit a series of stations practicing these skills and working with partners to fine tune their understanding through games, task cards, and explorations. On Friday, the class comes together to play a mathed-up version of the Dots game (above).

Week 2, students practice adding and subtracting 10 from a number. True/false statements are included in almost every week of this unit. The games and partner activities help students learn the material more quickly.

Week 3, students practice adding and subtracting multiples of 10 from numbers within 100. Skip counting by 10s helps students make the connections and games help solidify the content.

On Friday of weeks 2 and 3, the whole class comes together to create a mystery picture by solving equations and coloring the answers on the 100's chart. This is always a favorite activity! 

Simple worksheets and independent practice are also included. These can be used as part of the center rotation as intended or in addition to your district's curriculum. Our district's curriculum is great, but doesn't always provide enough practice on these skills. I've used stations as enrichment practice for after our required lessons, or for reteaching when needed.

Week 4 is a review week of all the skills worked on in this unit. It's mixed practice with addition and subtraction at all levels. It's super easy to differentiate, too.

With each week, we are together for a whole class lesson on Monday. Tuesday through Thursday, students work in stations to practice the focus skill. On Friday, we come back together for a whole class game or activity. At the end of each day, we share any Ah-ha! moments or "I wonders" and discuss ideas. 

There are lots of ways to modify this setup so it works with your district's requirements if needed. You can find out more about how to make this unit your own (and grab some freebies) here. 

For more information on this bundle and more, head over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store here. And if you like this setup, you can grab a whole year's worth of curriculum with the 1st grade math bundle here. 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you found some new ideas for your classroom. Stay tuned for more great resources coming soon. Have a wonderful week and I'll talk to you soon. 

Stay cozy,