Number Bonds to 10 Game

This number bonds to 10 game helps kindergarten and first grade children learn the pairs of numbers that make 10, such as 3 + 7 and 6 + 4, by playing: pop balloons, flip memory cards, race cars or sprint through true and false sentences. Each question gives one part and asks for the missing part, like 4 + ? = 10, so children practice the make 10 facts that all later addition and subtraction depends on. It is free, needs no sign-up, works on phones and tablets, and comes with a printable number bonds chart with ten frames.

Number bonds to 10 game: see how it plays

The game below has four modes, and every question asks for the missing part of 10. The printable chart shows all eleven pairs with a ten frame for each, and the pictures show Memory Match, Balloon Pop and Answer Race on this page.

How the number bonds to 10 game works

• Answer Race: every right answer moves your car forward, and you race three computer cars to the finish flag. The first to 15 wins, and wrong taps cost time, not places.
• Balloon Pop: answers float up on balloons, and you pop the right one before it drifts off the top. The wrong balloons are within 3 of the right answer, so children have to work the missing part out and not just spot the odd number. The game speeds up as your score climbs, and three misses ends the round.
• Memory Match: twelve face-down cards hide six questions such as 8 + ? = 10 and their six answers. Flip two at a time and match each one to its answer in as few moves as you can.
• True or False: sixty seconds on the clock. Decide whether each sentence, such as 3 + ? = 10 is 7, is right or wrong. A streak of five or more scores double.

Make 10 game: all 11 number bonds to 10

A number bond splits a whole into two parts, and the whole here is 10. Counting zero and ten, there are eleven pairs, but only six are really different, because 3 + 7 is the same fact as 7 + 3. Every question in the game uses one of these pairs, and the ten frame shows the missing part as empty circles:

The pairs 5 + 5, 6 + 4 and 7 + 3 are the ones children need to know instantly, because the rest come from them: if 6 + 4 is 10, then 4 + 6, 10 − 4 and 10 − 6 are all known too. Playing the addition within 10 game first gives a good start, and the number bonds to 10 game then makes the pairs automatic.

Pairs that make 10 and number bonds game ideas

Every number bonds game is built on this pattern. When one part goes up by one, the other goes down by one, and the total stays 10. Children who see this pattern stop counting the missing part: if 4 + 6 is 10, then 5 + 5 is 10 and 6 + 4 is 10. The pattern also shows the “friends of ten” idea used in many classrooms, and a child who knows the friend of 7 is 3 does not need to count. Practicing the number bonds to 10 game for a few minutes a day makes this automatic.

Using number bonds to 10 to add bigger numbers

The bonds are used to bridge through ten. To add 8 + 5, take 2 from the 5 to make the 8 into 10, then add the 3 that is left. This is the main reason the bonds matter, and it works for every fact that crosses ten:

For the full list of teen sums, practice with the addition within 20 game, and use the subtraction within 10 game for the other direction.

Friends of 10 games to play at home

• Fingers: hold up some fingers and ask how many are down. If 6 are up, 4 are down.
• Egg carton: a carton of ten spaces and two colors of counters gives every bond, or print a ten frame.
• Cards: deal cards from 1 to 9 and find pairs that make 10.
• Door slam: say a number to 10, and the child says its friend before you count to three.

Number bonds to 10 chart and ten frame number bonds

The number bonds to 10 chart above shows the eleven pairs with ten frame number bonds beside each one. Orange circles are the part you know, and the empty circles are the missing part. Children can say each bond aloud while pointing to the circles, then cover the empty ones and check. Print the number bonds to 10 printable for each child and keep one on the wall near the number bonds to 10 game.

Where number bonds to 10 fit at school

The Common Core kindergarten operations and algebraic thinking standards name this skill, K.OA.A.4, directly. Print the making 10 worksheets for written practice.

Number bonds to 10 game: frequently asked questions

What are number bonds to 10?

They are the pairs of whole numbers that add up to 10, such as 2 and 8 or 5 and 5. Each pair shows how 10 can be split into two parts.

How many number bonds are there to 10?

There are eleven pairs from 0 + 10 to 10 + 0, and six different facts if you count 3 + 7 and 7 + 3 as one.

What age is the number bonds to 10 game for?

Kindergarten and grade 1, usually ages 5 to 7. Children as young as 4 can play the number bonds to 10 game with a grown-up reading the questions.

What is a ten frame in number bonds work?

It is a grid of two rows of five boxes. Counters fill part of it, and the empty boxes show the missing part of 10.

Is the number bonds to 10 game free, and do kids need an account?

Yes, it is free, and no account is needed. Best scores are saved only in the browser on this device.

Does it work on phones and tablets?

Yes. Every game is built for touch first and also works with a mouse on a computer.

More learning games

• Addition within 10
• Addition within 20
• Subtraction within 10
• Doubles facts
• All learning games