Addition Teaching Resources
Introduce addition this school year with printable worksheets, digital activities, adding games, addition word problems, flashcards and more to help students understand how to add numbers and apply addition strategies to maths problems.
This teaching resource collection was created by the teachers on the Teach Starter team for primary teachers like you. Each Australian curriculum-aligned resource has been carefully reviewed and curated by our expert teachers to ensure it's ready to use with your students! Browse printables and digital activities for teaching students how to make 10, how to add integers and more, plus find differentiated resources to help you meet each student's needs!
New to teaching addition, or just looking for new ways to engage your students? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including a kid-friendly definition and some common vocabulary!
What Is Addition? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Let's start with a definition of this maths operation that's easy for them to understand!
Addition is a maths operation that involves combining two or more numbers to find a total. The symbol (+) is used to indicate addition, and this is called a plus sign.
Here's an example of addition at work!
In the equation 2 + 3 = 5, the numbers 2 and 3 are added together to get a sum of 5.
Addition Terms
There are plenty of new vocabulary words for your students to learn when introducing addition. Here are some of the terms you will want to start with.
Sum
The sum is the result of adding two or more numbers. It's the solution or answer to an addition problem!
In the equation 2 + 3 = 5, 5 is the sum.
Addend
The numbers being added in an addition equation are called addends.
For example, in the equation 2 + 3 = 5, both 2 and 3 are addends.
Commutative Property
The commutative property states that changing the order of the addends in your addition problem does not change the sum.
For example, 2 + 3 is the same as 3 + 2.
Associative Property
The associative property states that changing the grouping of the addends in your maths problem will not change the sum.
For example, (2 + 3) + 4 is the same as 2 + (3 + 4).
Repeated Addition
Sometimes a math problem involves adding the same number multiple times. We call this repeated addition, and it's a way to find the product of two numbers where one of the numbers is repeated a certain number of times.
Repeated addition is handy for helping students understand multiplication. After all, multiplication can be thought of as repeated addition.
Cartoon plus sign
What Is Partial Sums Addition?
If you know what a sum is, you're halfway to understanding partial sums addition! This maths vocabulary term refers to adding two or more numbers by breaking apart the addends and adding the value of the digits in each place value position from right to left.
This handy strategy is great for students when they are first learning to add two or more numbers. Partial sums addition breaks down the process of addition into smaller, more manageable steps.
Let's look at an example.
If you have the 36 + 27 and want to use partial sums addition, you start by determining the value of the digits in the ones place, adding them together, and writing down the sum (6 + 7 = 13).
Next, add the value of the tens place digits together (30 + 20 = 50), and write down the answer under the previous sum. Add together the two partial sums to get your answer, 63.
- Plus Plan
Maths Resource Packs for Parents - Addition and Subtraction
An extensive collection of resources for for parents to help Year 3 and Year 4 children with addition and subtraction.
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Number Facts Board Games
A collection of board games to consolidate your students' knowledge of number facts.
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Addition Detectives
This Mathematics unit covers a range of mental computation strategies for addition.
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Split Strategy
A 60-minute lesson designed to progress students' understanding of mental addition by partitioning numbers into place value to help them find a total.
- Plus Plan
Jump Strategy
A 60-minute lesson designed to explore the jump strategy for adding two- and three-digit numbers.
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Compensation Strategy
A 60-minute lesson designed to build upon students' understanding of addition and subtraction by exploring compensation.
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Bridging to Ten
A 60-minute lesson designed for students to recall 'friends of ten' facts and use this knowledge to solve addition sums.
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Concrete Materials
A 60-minute lesson to reinforce students' understanding of basic addition principles, using concrete materials.
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Finding Your Strategy
A 60-minute lesson designed to reinforce that students can choose to use different addition strategies in different situations.
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Assessment - Addition Strategies
A 30-minute assessment designed to assess students' understanding of working with place value to solve problems, the connection between addition and subtraction, and the development of efficient mental strategies for computation.
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Linking Addition and Subtraction
A 60-minute lesson designed to investigate the relationship between addition and subtraction.
- Plus Plan
Number Boards
A 60-minute lesson designed to explore the use of number boards/hundreds charts when adding numbers.
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