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 math problems.

This teaching resource collection was created by the teachers on the Teach Starter team for elementary teachers. Each of the curriculum-aligned resources has been carefully reviewed and curated by our expert teachers to make sure 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 math operation that's easy for them to understand!

Addition is a math 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 for Kids to Learn

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 off 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.

In the equation 2 + 3 = 5, for example, 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 math 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 math 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 to use with 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.