Two Ten Frames Two ten frames may be used to help children understand teen numbers. Teen numbers present particular problems for young children. The choice of single-digit number names is quite arbitrary, however, once the single-digit number names have been established, they are used to generate further numbers. The two-digit such as sixty, seventy, eighty . . . . all derive from the single-digit number names and add ‘ty’ to the end. However, many anomalies occur. Consider the spelling of twenty, thirty, forty, fifty. These words bear some resemblance to their single digit counterparts, but not in the same way that sixty and seventy do. Teen numbers present their own particular difficulty. Most numbers are read from left to right, however, 18 is read as eighteen. The one ten is read as ‘teen’. Some children who hear eighteen will write 81 because the eight is said first. The first two-digit numbers that children experience are eleven and twelve, which do not follow any pattern at all. Two ten frames placed side by side may be used to model teen numbers.
1 ten 8 ones – eighteen Ten frames may be joined to model larger two-digit numbers, although bundling sticks are less cumbersome for larger two-digit numbers.
2 tens 8 ones – twenty-eight Games that involve filling ten frames will aid in the development of thinking in tens and emphasise what happens when a decade is bridged. Note how adding 9 and 6 may be modelled using two different colours.
9 and 6
becomes 10 and 5 1 ten 5 ones – fifteen
Playing with Place Value
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© P. Swan