Making Ten with Number Bonds
A 40-minute Kindergarten lesson that builds the make-ten partners as a set of eight facts children can see on a ten frame, not eight facts they have to memorise.
Making Ten with Number Bonds is a free 40-minute Kindergarten maths lesson plan for Common Core standard K.OA.A.4 — find the partner number that makes ten. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Kindergarten
- Length:
- 40 minutes
- Standard:
- K.OA.A.4
Kindergarten · Operations & Algebraic Thinking
K.OA.A.4
For any number from 1 to 9, find the number that makes 10 when added to the given number.
Objective
Students will be able to name the partner that makes ten for any number from 1 to 9.
Students are successful when they can
- Given 6, states 4 without counting on fingers from one.
- Explains a partner using a ten frame: 'six filled, four empty, that is ten'.
- Recognises that 3 and 7 is the same fact as 7 and 3.
What you need
- One ten frame per student, laminated or in a sleeve
- Two-colour counters, ten per student
- A large demonstration ten frame
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — fill and freeze
5 min- Every student fills their ten frame completely with red counters.
- Call a number: 'flip four'. Students flip four counters to yellow.
- Ask how many are still red. Take answers, do not confirm yet — just collect them.
Teach — the frame does the arithmetic
12 min- On the demonstration frame, flip 6 counters. Ask how many are unflipped.
- Write it as a bond: 10 with 6 and 4 hanging beneath it. Not as an equation yet.
- Repeat for 3, then 8. Each time, point out that you never counted the second number — you read it off the empty squares.
- Build the full set on the board as you go: 1 and 9, 2 and 8, 3 and 7, 4 and 6, 5 and 5.
- Stop at five pairs and ask whether any are missing. Draw out that 6 and 4 is already on the board as 4 and 6.
“You are not counting the yellow ones. You are reading the empty squares. The frame already knows the answer.”
Guided practice — partner call
12 min- Pairs sit facing each other with one frame between them.
- Partner A places counters for a number. Partner B says the partner number and then checks by looking at the empty squares.
- Swap every three turns.
- Circulate and ask 'how did you know?' A child who says 'I counted the holes' has the concept. A child who says 'because I remembered' may or may not — ask for a different number and find out.
Independent practice
8 min- Students complete a missing-partner page, frame available on the desk.
- Do not remove the frames. Withdrawing the model this lesson converts a reasoning task into a recall task, and recall is next week's goal.
Close
3 min- Call out numbers 1 to 9 in random order; class answers the partner chorally.
- Finish on 5, and let someone point out that its partner is itself.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Counts every square from one to find the partner, every time.
Why: The ten frame is being read as a collection of ten separate objects rather than as a fixed container. If the whole is not held as a known quantity, the partner has to be recounted from scratch.
Fix: Cover the filled section with your hand. There is nothing to count, so the only route to an answer is knowing the frame holds ten. Take the hand away to confirm.
Says 6 and 4 confidently but treats 4 and 6 as an unfamiliar new fact.
Why: The pair has been stored as an ordered phrase — a sound — rather than as a relationship between two quantities.
Fix: Rotate the physical frame 180 degrees while they watch. Nothing was added or removed, and the same two numbers are still there. Do this with three pairs, then ask how many facts are really on the board.
Gives partners that sum to nine, consistently and confidently.
Why: Almost always an off-by-one in counting the empty squares, from starting the count on the last filled square rather than the first empty one.
Fix: Have them place a counter of a third colour in each empty square rather than counting by eye. The error disappears when the empty squares become objects.
If they are not there yet
- Work to five first with a five frame. The structure is identical and the load is half.
- Use one colour of counter and genuinely empty squares rather than two-colour flips — the visual contrast between object and gap is stronger than between red and yellow.
If they finish early
- Ask for partners to twenty using a double ten frame.
- Give a bond with the whole missing: one part is 3, the other is 7, what is the whole?
- Ask why there are only five different make-ten facts when there are nine starting numbers. That is a real question with a real answer, and it is worth ten minutes.
Exit ticket
Draw a ten frame. Colour in 7 squares. How many are left?
What to look for: The drawing matters as much as the answer. A frame drawn with ten squares and three left uncoloured shows the structure is internalised. A frame drawn with seven squares total, and the answer 'none left', tells you the child is treating the number as the whole rather than as a part — reteach with the physical frame before moving on.
Printable practice for K.OA.A.4
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- Make Ten — Missing PartnerHow many empty squares?
Questions about Making Ten with Number Bonds
How long does the Making Ten with Number Bonds lesson take?
40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 12 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 3 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does Making Ten with Number Bonds teach?
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.OA.A.4 — K.OA.A.4, Operations & Algebraic Thinking for Kindergarten: “For any number from 1 to 9, find the number that makes 10 when added to the given number.” In plain terms, find the partner number that makes ten.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
One ten frame per student, laminated or in a sleeve, two-colour counters, ten per student, a large demonstration ten frame and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: counts every square from one to find the partner, every time; says 6 and 4 confidently but treats 4 and 6 as an unfamiliar new fact and gives partners that sum to nine, consistently and confidently. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “Draw a ten frame. Colour in 7 squares. How many are left?.” The drawing matters as much as the answer. A frame drawn with ten squares and three left uncoloured shows the structure is internalised. A frame drawn with seven squares total, and the answer 'none left', tells you the child is treating the number as the whole rather than as a part — reteach with the physical frame before moving on. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with Making Ten with Number Bonds?
Yes — 1 printable K.OA.A.4 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is Making Ten with Number Bonds free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 4 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-09-04. Aligned to K.OA.A.4 of the Common Core State Standards for mathematics.