Addition Teaching Resources
Introduce addition this school year with printable worksheets, digital activities, adding games, addition word problems, flashcards and more to help students understand how to add numbers and apply addition strategies to maths problems.
This teaching resource collection was created by the teachers on the Teach Starter team for primary teachers like you. Each Australian curriculum-aligned resource has been carefully reviewed and curated by our expert teachers to ensure it's ready to use with your students! Browse printables and digital activities for teaching students how to make 10, how to add integers and more, plus find differentiated resources to help you meet each student's needs!
New to teaching addition, or just looking for new ways to engage your students? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including a kid-friendly definition and some common vocabulary!
What Is Addition? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Let's start with a definition of this maths operation that's easy for them to understand!
Addition is a maths operation that involves combining two or more numbers to find a total. The symbol (+) is used to indicate addition, and this is called a plus sign.
Here's an example of addition at work!
In the equation 2 + 3 = 5, the numbers 2 and 3 are added together to get a sum of 5.
Addition Terms
There are plenty of new vocabulary words for your students to learn when introducing addition. Here are some of the terms you will want to start with.
Sum
The sum is the result of adding two or more numbers. It's the solution or answer to an addition problem!
In the equation 2 + 3 = 5, 5 is the sum.
Addend
The numbers being added in an addition equation are called addends.
For example, in the equation 2 + 3 = 5, both 2 and 3 are addends.
Commutative Property
The commutative property states that changing the order of the addends in your addition problem does not change the sum.
For example, 2 + 3 is the same as 3 + 2.
Associative Property
The associative property states that changing the grouping of the addends in your maths problem will not change the sum.
For example, (2 + 3) + 4 is the same as 2 + (3 + 4).
Repeated Addition
Sometimes a math problem involves adding the same number multiple times. We call this repeated addition, and it's a way to find the product of two numbers where one of the numbers is repeated a certain number of times.
Repeated addition is handy for helping students understand multiplication. After all, multiplication can be thought of as repeated addition.
Cartoon plus sign
What Is Partial Sums Addition?
If you know what a sum is, you're halfway to understanding partial sums addition! This maths vocabulary term refers to adding two or more numbers by breaking apart the addends and adding the value of the digits in each place value position from right to left.
This handy strategy is great for students when they are first learning to add two or more numbers. Partial sums addition breaks down the process of addition into smaller, more manageable steps.
Let's look at an example.
If you have the 36 + 27 and want to use partial sums addition, you start by determining the value of the digits in the ones place, adding them together, and writing down the sum (6 + 7 = 13).
Next, add the value of the tens place digits together (30 + 20 = 50), and write down the answer under the previous sum. Add together the two partial sums to get your answer, 63.
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Near Doubles Activities - 'Wizard's Walk' Board Game
Play near doubles activities like our Wizard’s Walk board game for an engaging way to practise addition strategies.
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Pizza Maths Fact Fluency Trackers
Motivate and inspire students to learn their maths facts with printable maths fact fluency trackers.
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Make Ten Worksheet
Practise early addition strategies of making ten with this worksheet.
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Addition Detectives PowerPoint
An engaging 43-slide PowerPoint styled as a detective story in which students are tasked with using different addition strategies to uncover suspects.
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Missing Addend Addition Picture Puzzle – Level 1
Build simple addition skills with this missing addends worksheet.
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Fact Family Find and Flip - Addition and Subtraction (Upper)
Addition and subtraction game cards demonstrating the relationship between fact families.
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Fact Family Find and Flip - Addition and Subtraction (Lower)
Addition and subtraction game cards demonstrating the relationship between fact families.
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Double Plus One - Worksheet
A worksheet to help students demonstrate their understanding of near doubles.
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Double Plus One - Dice Roll Worksheet
A worksheet to help students demonstrate their understanding of near doubles.
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Bar Model Poster Pack
Help your students solve problems using the four operations with a pack of printable strip diagram anchor charts.
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Addition Strategies Task Cards
Practise using the jump strategy, split strategy, compensation strategy and 100s chart strategy with this set of task cards.
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Find 20 Addition Strategy Task Cards
Practise finding 20 with this set of linking cube task cards.
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Rainbow Number Facts Board Game
A fun, hands-on board game to consolidate students' understanding of the 'Friends of 10'.
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Adding with the Bar Model Cut and Paste Worksheet
Practise adding two digit numbers using the bar model with this cut and paste worksheet.
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Missing Addends Addition Worksheet
Build addition strategies with this worksheet where students need to identify the missing addend and matching subtraction sum.
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Bunny Number Lines - Addition and Subtraction Task Cards
Hop like a bunny to practise addition and subtraction on a number line.
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Counting On Fact Families Worksheet
Begin from the larger number and count on to find the total with this worksheet.
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Word Problem Task Cards – 2-Digit + 1-Digit Addition
Practise adding 2-Digit and 1-Digit numbers with this set of 16 word problem task cards.
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Addition Strategies: Base-Ten Blocks Worksheet
Practice using the strategy of using base-10 blocks and regrouping to find the sum.
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Number Talks - Balancing Equations Task Cards
Build number sense skills with this set of 40 task cards.
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Rainbow Numbers Poster
A poster showing rainbow numbers, or fact families to ten.
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Hands and Numbers 1-10 Counting Activity Template
Teach counting from 1 to 10 and one-to-one correspondence with a creative (and free) printable activity.
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Counting On Game - Counting On 1
Play counting on games like this Counting On 1 board game to engage your early learners as they learn to add by counting on one.
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Repeated Addition Arrays Interactive Task Cards
Use our repeated addition arrays interactive task cards to introduce multiplication in a way your learners will more easily understand.
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Number Grid Interactive Activity
Share this number grid interactive activity with your students to give them practice adding and subtracting ten and one from a given number.
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Simple Addition Riddle Worksheet
Download this simple addition worksheet to provide your students with practice adding one- and two-digit numbers.
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Friends of 10 Addition Poster Bundle
Print the ultimate Friends of 10 poster bundle with 10 printable classroom posters designed to show students how different combinations of numbers connect to make the same number.
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Blast Off Addition Strategy Interactive Activity
Practise four different addition strategies in this fun space-themed interactive activity.
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Adding and Subtracting Integers on Number Lines - Worksheet
Help your students learn to add and subtract integers on a number line with a printable adding and subtracting integers worksheet.
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Partitioning Teaching Presentation
Introduce the partitioning strategy to your students with this teaching presentation.
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Addition and Subtraction Word Problem Task Cards (Numbers 1-9)
Use a range of addition and subtraction strategies to solve twenty single-digit word problems.
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Tens Frame - Addition and Subtraction Match-Up Activity
Build addition and subtraction skills with two tens frame matching games.