Why ten frames work
A ten frame shows a number as a picture children can read without counting one by one. Five fills a row, ten fills the frame, and the empty boxes show how many more make ten. That picture is the base of adding within 10 and understanding teen numbers.
Three ways to practise
- How many? Count the dots and write the number.
- Make 10. Count the empty boxes to find what makes ten.
- Teens. One full frame and some more: ten and some ones.
In the MATATAG curriculum
- KinderMatching numerals to sets of objects, and comparing which set has more or less.
- Grade 1Composing and decomposing numbers up to 10 with concrete materials, and adding with sums up to 20.
The MATATAG guides do not name ten frames, but they ask Grade 1 children to build and split numbers up to 10 and to add up to 20, which is exactly what a ten frame shows.
A ten frame is easy to make from local materials: cut an egg tray down to ten cups, or draw a 2 by 5 grid in chalk and use bottle caps as counters.
Summarised in our own words from DepEd’s MATATAG Kindergarten Curriculum Guide and Mathematics Curriculum Guide, Grades 1–10 (2023).
