Writing an Addition Statement up to 10

An addition statement is a short number sentence that shows two groups being joined together, such as \( 3 + 2 = 5 \). Once a child can already combine objects or pictures into one group, the next step is learning to write that action down using numbers and symbols instead of just counting out loud. This lesson focuses on writing the full statement, the two starting numbers, the plus sign, the equal sign, and the total, from a picture or a set of objects up to 10.

Before writing statements, it helps to first practice combining together with objects up to 10, since counting two groups and joining them physically is the foundation for writing the matching number sentence.

Every addition statement up to 10 has the same three parts: two addends and a sum, connected by a plus sign and an equal sign. Look at the picture below of 3 apples and 2 apples being put together.

Reading the picture from left to right gives the addition statement \( 3 + 2 = 5 \). The two smaller groups are the addends, and the number after the equal sign is the sum.

Follow these steps whenever a picture, a set of objects, or a story shows two groups being combined.

1. Count the first group and write that number.
2. Write a plus sign after the first number.
3. Count the second group and write that number after the plus sign.
4. Write an equal sign after the second number.
5. Count all the objects from both groups together and write that total as the sum.

Since every number up to 10 can be split and joined in many ways, it is important to line the digits up carefully in the same order the groups were counted, first addend, then second addend, then sum.

It helps to say each part out loud while writing it, since this connects the spoken words to the written symbols.

This is the same skill practiced when completing the addition statement up to 10, except here every part of the statement is written from scratch instead of filling in a missing number.

A picture shows 4 birds on a branch and 1 bird flying in to join them. Count the first group: there are 4 birds. Write 4. Write a plus sign. Count the second group: there is 1 bird. Write 1 after the plus sign. Write an equal sign. Now count all the birds together: 4 and 1 more makes 5. Write 5 as the sum. The finished addition statement is \( 4 + 1 = 5 \).

Always double check the sum by counting the whole picture one more time from the start, since it is easy to miscount a single object when the groups are placed close together.

Writing an addition statement is the bridge between counting objects and doing math with numbers alone. Once a child is comfortable writing statements like \( 3 + 2 = 5 \), that same skill applies to addition word problems up to 10, where the two groups come from a short story instead of a picture, and to any future problem where two amounts up to 10 need to be joined and recorded as a number sentence.

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• Kindergarten