Ten frame
Tap a square for a red counter, again for yellow, and again to empty it.
Empty. 10 counters fill it.
The printed sheet
Ten framestringmash.com/ten-frame
Using the ten frame
Tap a square to put a red counter in it. Tap again and it turns yellow; a third tap empties it. The line under the frame keeps count, and with both colours it writes the sum, such as 6 red and 4 yellow: 6 + 4 = 10. Plus one fills the next square along the top row, then the bottom.
Flash shows a number for two seconds, then covers it. Ask how many there were before pressing Show it. Hide the count keeps the line blank so children can work it out themselves.
Print gives this frame large, to use as a mat with real counters. Or choose a sheet of blank frames, or a sheet of filled frames to count with a line for each answer. New numbers deals a fresh sheet.
Why a ten frame works
A ten frame is a two-by-five rectangle that counters go into, to show numbers up to ten. A 1993 paper by Janette Bobis, a researcher at the University of Sydney, credits the design to Wirtz. It plays on children's growing ability to subitise, which means seeing how many there are at a glance without counting.
The frame's shape does the teaching. Seven counters read as a full row of five and two more, and the three empty squares say how many more make ten. Bobis suggests flashing a frame and asking how many counters there were, how many spaces, and how many more make ten. That's the Flash button.
Making ten is a kindergarten goal in the US. The Common Core asks children to find the number that makes 10 when added to any number from 1 to 9 (K.OA.A.4), and to split numbers up to 10 into pairs in more than one way (K.OA.A.3). Two colours of counters in one frame show both.
Five frames, double frames and tens frames
A five frame is one row of five, for the youngest children still learning numbers to five. A double ten frame goes to 20. NRICH shows 13 as one full frame and 3 counters on a second, an early step into two-digit numbers.
In England the same tool is usually called a tens frame. The Department for Education's 2020 guidance uses it from year 1, with counters in two colours for splitting numbers and for near doubles. It carries the idea on to year 4, where each counter can stand for 100 and a full frame for 1,000.
Questions
How do you fill a ten frame?
The +1 button and the printed sheets fill the top row from left to right, then the bottom row, so 7 always looks the same: five and two more. Children can place counters anywhere, though. Talking about why a different layout still makes 7 is worth doing too.
What are the two colours for?
Splitting a number. Seven red and three yellow show 7 + 3 = 10, and swapping the colours shows 3 + 7 = 10.
Can I print it in black and white?
Yes. Red counters print dark grey and yellow ones print as white circles, so the two still look different on a black and white printer.
Who is a ten frame for?
Young children learning numbers to 10 and then 20. Bobis's study ran in two kindergarten classes in Sydney, and the Department for Education guidance starts tens frames in year 1. The double frame helps with numbers in the teens and with adding across ten.
Sources
- Bobis, J. (1993), Visualisation and the development of mental computation, MERGA conference proceedings
- NRICH: Place Value, the Ten-ness of Ten
- Department for Education (2020): Mathematics guidance, key stages 1 and 2
- Common Core State Standards, Kindergarten: Operations and Algebraic Thinking
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