Adding Three Small Numbers
Add three one-digit numbers using strategies including looking for pairs that make 10
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Adding Three Small Numbers means finding the total of three one-digit addends. A useful strategy is looking for a pair that makes 10, then adding the third number. Other pairs can be added first when that feels easier. We will build with counters, write the equation, and notice when a make-10 pair helps.
Spend about 12 minutes adding three one-digit numbers with counters, spotting make-10 pairs when they appear, writing the totals, and explaining the order used.
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Illustrative Mathematics · Practice link — not the full lesson
Daisies in vases
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Distribute eight daisies among three vases so the large vase has the most and the small vase has the least, then explain the arrangements. Adult reading and objects help.
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Before you openDiscuss whether an empty vase or equal counts are allowed before checking the arrangements. The page does not score the work.
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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 2026-11-10 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. “Daisies in vases.” Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. External task; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute it.
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Check understanding
- Calculate 5 + 7 + 3 by first adding 7 + 3 = 10, then 5 + 10 = 15
- Add any three single-digit numbers correctly
- Identify useful pairs within three addends to make the calculation easier
“If your child needs to add 4 + 6 + 8, can they spot that 4 and 6 make 10 first, then add 8 to get 18 — rather than just adding in order from left to right?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Procedural
- Subject
- Mathematics
- Domain
- Addition & Subtraction
- Age range
- Ages 6–7
Standards