Make Addition Facts to 20 Clear, Flexible and Meaningful

This teaching slide deck is designed to help students develop strong understanding and recall of addition facts to 20 by explicitly teaching key mental addition strategies rather than relying on rote memorisation. The resource supports students to see patterns, make connections and apply efficient strategies when working with numbers.

Within the slide deck, teachers are guided through clearly sequenced explanations and visual models that introduce core strategies such as: doubles, near doubles, counting on, combinations to 10, bridging to 10 and the commutative property. Each concept is broken down using age‑appropriate language, concrete representations and worked examples that make abstract ideas accessible.

This resource helps teachers:

• Teach addition facts to 20 with clarity and intention
• Build student fluency without sacrificing conceptual understanding
• Increase engagement through visual models and interactive prompts
• Support diverse learners with scaffolded instruction

Bring Addition Strategies to Life in Your Classroom

This slide deck offers flexible opportunities to explore addition strategies in creative, purposeful ways that extend beyond traditional lesson delivery. Consider using it to:

• Create interactive maths talks: Use modelling and solve‑together slides to spark discussion about how answers were found, encouraging students to compare strategies and explain their thinking.
• Design strategy spotlights: Focus on one strategy per day or week and revisit slides regularly to reinforce understanding and build automaticity.
  
• Support intervention and extension: Use selected slides in small groups to reteach concepts or challenge confident students to represent strategies in multiple ways.

Teaching Addition Strategies Made Simple to Download and Use

Designed to support effective teaching addition strategies, this resource is available in formats that fit seamlessly into busy classrooms. The slide deck can be downloaded as an editable PowerPoint File or Google Slides version, allowing you to tailor content to your students’ needs.

When selecting the Google Slides option, you’ll be prompted to make your own copy, ensuring you can edit, adapt, and reuse the slides as often as needed. 

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a Teach Starter Collaborator. 

More Addition Strategies Practice

Don’t stop there! Put these addition strategies to use with our addition practice activities below.

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