The teen numbers
Understand that the teen numbers (11–19) are composed of ten ones and some further ones (early place value)
Lesson
Set out your lesson
“Teen numbers are ten and some more. Fourteen is one ten and four ones, not just “a four.” We build the ten bundle first, then add the extra ones.”
Bring to the table
- One bundle of 10 sticks, straws, or cubes
- 9 loose sticks or cubes
- Paper and marker
Extra for the adult
Worked example. 14 = 10 + 4. 17 = 10 + 7. The first digit in a teen tells the ten; the second tells the extra ones.
Optional challenge. Hear “one ten and six ones,” say 16, and write 10+6=16 without seeing the sticks first; then check with the model.
What to notice. Save a photo of a ten-and-ones model or a parent note such as “14 = 1 ten + 4 ones.”
Share and support
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Teaching approaches
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1 approach
Teen numbers are ten and some more. Fourteen is one ten and four ones, not just “a four.” We build the ten bundle first, then add the extra ones.
Spend about 10 minutes building teen numbers with one ten and leftover ones.
Family records and proof options
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Save photos, notes, and attendance. Export a proof packet for compliance or portfolio reviews.
Learning resources
Extra practice links — they do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.
Illustrative Mathematics · Practice link — not the full lesson
What Makes a Teen Number?
Before you open · source notes
Teen numbers 11–19 are drawn on a ten-frame and written as 10 + some ones. This is early place-value support for teen composition, not every number to 20.
Free, no sign-in. A teacher solution is on the same page, so use the student view with your child.
Before you openAsk the learner to show one teen as a full ten-frame plus leftover dots, then say the 10 + equation.
Opening this link does not save learning or assess mastery.
Source, access and review notes
Public Illustrative Mathematics task page. The .html address responds HTTP 308 to this URL. An anonymous GET of this URL on 2026-11-11 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt. Where a teacher solution is present, it is on the same page as the student task; this check did not find a separate locked student view. An adult can use the student view section and should not read a solution aloud. Advertising was not observed in the fetched HTML text; that is not a browser, device, or ad-free guarantee. This is a paper or discussion task, not an automatically marked interactive game. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. Diagrams on the page use missing or filename-only alt text, so they are not an accessible image equivalent. Accessibility still depends on an adult describing the picture.
Illustrative Mathematics. “What Makes a Teen Number?.” Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. External task; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute it.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — link only
Check understanding
- Compose 14 as a group of ten and four ones using objects
- Decompose 17 into 10 + 7 and record as an equation
- Explain that 13 is 'one ten and three ones'
“If your child has 14 building blocks, can they see it as one full tower of 10 and 4 left over — understanding 'teen' numbers as ten-and-some-more?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Conceptual
- Subject
- Mathematics
- Domain
- Number Representation & Place Value
- Age range
- Ages 5–7
Standards