Math: Adding Within 100

First graders began a new unit in math this week which builds on their understanding of place value and the properties of operations to solve double digit addition problems. In the previous unit, students composed, decomposed, and compared numbers within 100. In this unit, students begin by adding a two-digit number with another two-digit number or with a one-digit number where it is not necessary to compose another ten (regroup...yet). With the support of connecting cubes and ten frames to model the quantities, two broad methods for finding sums are being explored: adding on by place (adding on tens, then ones), and adding units by place (combining tens with tens and ones with ones). This is meaty stuff for 6-and 7-year olds and sets the scene for working within 1000 in second grade.