Discovering the Bonds of Ten

Using the addition strip board, the children are able to discover all of the numbers (addends) that add up to another number (sum).  Here, a child is discovering the bonds of ten.  It is important to show children the relationships between numbers.  They begin to understand a whole is made up of parts.  If you know the parts, you can add them together to find the whole.  You can also take away a part to find the other part.  The children also begin to think about subtraction.  They naturally see the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction. 

We usually start with ten and work our way down.  Many children choose their "bond" work in the mornings.  They have decided to do "one bond a day!"