Ten Plus Card Game: Building Teen Numbers

Teen numbers are built around an important part/whole relationship: one ten and some additional ones. When students understand that 16 can be composed as 10 and 6, they’re developing an understanding of our base-ten number system while also building relationships they can use for addition within 20. This simple partner activity, adapted from an activity by John Van de Walle, connects those two ideas by having students combine numbers to find a sum greater than 10 and then match that sum to its 10 + some more representation.

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Build the Sum on a Double Ten-Frame

Adding a double ten-frame and counters gives students a concrete and visual model for the mathematics in the game. Rather than simply calculating a sum and then matching it to a $10+$ card, students can use the model to find the sum and see its 10 + some more structure at the same time.

Suppose one player turns over a 9 and the other turns over a 7. The first player places 9 counters of one color on the double ten-frame. The second player adds 7 counters of another color, continuing where the first player left off. The different colors allow students to still see the original addends, $9+7$, while the structure of the double ten-frame shows one full ten and 6 additional ones. Students can see that $9+7=16$ and that $16=10+6$, so they match the sum to the $10+6$ card.

Sometimes the first two cards won’t produce a sum greater than 10. Suppose the players turn over a 5 and a 2. After placing 5 counters of one color and 2 of another on the double ten-frame, they can see that the sum is only 7. One player turns over another card—say a 4—and adds 4 more counters, going back to the first color. Now students can see a total of 11: one full ten and 1 more. The matching card is $10+1$.

As students gain experience with the activity, they may no longer need to build every combination. The goal is for those repeated experiences with the double ten-frame to help students develop mental images of teen numbers as one ten and some additional ones.

How to Play

Remove the 10s and face cards from a deck of playing cards and deal the remaining cards between two players. Lay the 10+ cards face up between them.

Each player turns over one playing card. Together, the players find the sum and match it to the corresponding 10+ card. Students who are using the double ten-frame build the addends with two colors of counters as described above.

If the sum is less than 10, turn over another playing card and add that amount to the total. Continue until the sum is greater than 10 and can be matched to one of the 10+ cards.

There’s no real winner in this game, and that’s intentional. Students work collaboratively to build the numbers, determine the sum, and find the matching representation. That also creates plenty of opportunities for partners to talk about how they see the numbers and explain their reasoning.

Extend the Thinking

For an easier version, students can remove each 10+ card once they’ve found a combination that matches it. For a greater challenge, leave all the 10+ cards on the table and have students record the different combinations they find for each one.

That extension shifts the focus from finding a single answer to composing the same teen number in different ways. For example, students might discover several different combinations that result in 16 and connect all of them to $10+6$. It’s another opportunity to reinforce the idea that numbers can be composed and decomposed in many different ways.

Build Meaningful Practice into a Math Workstation

This activity works well for partner practice in a math workstation, but it’s also a great choice for small-group instruction when you want to listen closely to students’ reasoning. Pay attention not only to whether students find the correct sum, but also to whether they’re beginning to recognize the one ten and some more structure without having to count every counter.

Download the free 10+ cards and double ten-frame here. Add a deck of playing cards and two colors of counters, and students have a low-prep way to practice addition within 20 while strengthening their understanding of how teen numbers are composed.