Easy Addition Facts to 10 Practice with My Dog Ten

Addition Facts to 10 with My Dog Ten

I have fallen in love with a video. We just started working on facts to 10 in our first-grade class, and while searching for something engaging to share with my students, I came across My Dog Ten by Mr. R’s Songs for Teaching. It is the perfect way for first graders to learn how to make ten — a cute dog, a catchy song, and math all in one!

The dog, named Ten, “only eats things that add to ten. He only likes things with the sum of 10.“ For example, when Ten’s owner gives him 4 dog treats, he refuses to eat them until he gets 6 more (4+6=10). The song continues with the same pattern until it has covered all the facts to ten. I showed this to my first graders, and they were mesmerized! I have shown it every morning since, and they still love it just as much as the first time.

I knew I had to capitalize on their love of this video and create some teaching materials to go with it. I started using them today, and they were an immediate hit!

Addition Facts to Ten Anchor Charts

I created two anchor charts to go with the video. The first shows the 6 basic facts to ten, while the second shows those same 6 facts with their turnaround facts. I use these anchor charts for discussion and for students to refer to while working.

Addition Facts to 10: Large Bones for Group Practice

Next, I created large bones with facts to 10 for use with the whole group. I hold up a bone, and the students give a thumbs-up if it adds up to 10, and Ten will eat it! If it does not add to 10, students give a thumbs-down, and Ten will not eat it.

I even took it one step further and decorated a dog bowl and a box for sorting the bones. Facts that add to 10 go into the dog bowl; the rest go back in the box. (see image below)

Additional Student Activities

Students practice sorting facts to ten using a variety of activity pages, including the one shown above. They cut out small bones and sort them into the correct dog dish. dog dish.

Class Pet: Ten, the Dog

Just for fun, I brought in a stuffed dog and named him Ten. I added a collar with his name (see below), and gave him a real dog bowl and a leash I got at the Dollar Store. Ten now sits in our classroom, and whenever we have a few minutes, we take him out and practice our facts to ten. He even has a name tag in case he gets lost!