Virtual ten frames

What a ten frame is

A ten frame is a rectangle of ten boxes in two rows of five. Counters go in the boxes, so a child sees how many there are and how many boxes are still empty. With two frames, numbers up to 20 appear as one full ten and some more.

On this page you tap an empty box to add a counter, choosing red or yellow with the two buttons, and tap a counter to remove it. The readout gives the total, the split between colors (such as 7 = 4 + 3) and how many more would make 10, or 20 with two frames. Flash shows a random amount for 2 seconds and then hides it.

Why ten frames help

Ten frames build number sense around 5 and 10, the two anchors of early math. A full row is 5, so a child who sees a full row and two more knows it is 7 without counting one by one. Recognizing an amount at a glance is called subitizing. It works for very small groups, and the frame extends it by showing bigger amounts as groups a child already knows.

The empty boxes show the partner to 10: 6 counters leave 4 empty, so 6 + 4 = 10. Those facts power the make-ten strategy in Common Core standard 1.OA.C.6, where 8 + 6 becomes 8 + 2 + 4, which is 10 + 4. Two colors let a child show the same total split in different ways, which is standard K.OA.A.3.

Common mix-ups

• Counting every counter, every time. Flash helps here: there is no time to count, so the child has to use the rows.
• Scattering counters anywhere. Many classrooms fill the top row from the left first, so 5 is always a full row. Encourage that habit.
• Thinking 14 means 1 and 4. Two frames show it as a full ten and 4 more, which is standard K.NBT.A.1.
• Treating 5 + 2 and 2 + 5 as different amounts. Swapping colors without changing the total shows they are the same.

A 10-minute ten frame routine

• Warm up with five flashes. After each one, ask how many and how the child knew.
• Make 7 in red. Swap one red counter for yellow at a time, saying each split aloud, until every way to make 7 has been found.
• Ask how many more make 10, then check.
• Switch to two frames. Put 8 red counters in the first frame, then add 6 yellow ones, filling the first frame before starting the second.
• Read the result together: 8 + 6 is 10 + 4, which is 14.

Where it fits by grade

• Kindergarten: count to 20, split numbers up to 10 into pairs (K.OA.A.3), find the partner that makes 10 for any number from 1 to 9 (K.OA.A.4), and see teen numbers as ten and some ones (K.NBT.A.1).
• Grade 1: add and subtract within 20 using strategies such as making ten (1.OA.C.6).
• Grade 2: add and subtract within 20 fluently using mental strategies (2.OA.B.2).
• England: ten frames are common in Reception, where children learn to subitize up to 5, and in Year 1, which covers number bonds within 20. Year 2 expects addition and subtraction facts to 20 to be recalled fluently.

Learning more

Addition and number bonds are skills on Eurekami's skill map, and Daily Practice brings them back for review when they start to fade. When an addition word problem is tricky, the AI tutor asks guiding questions so the child does the reasoning, and teachers can print worksheets with answer keys.