On a daily basis, we have been using ten-frames to help us gain an understanding of numbers as a structure of 5 and 10. Ten-frames are an arrangement of 10 squares that are organized into two rows - five in each row. Objects of choice are placed in the squares beginning at the top left corner allowing students to see groups of five and ten.
Upon entering in the morning, students sign in by placing their mini-self portrait on the ten-frame. As a class we will count the number of students at school. Students began by counting each self-portrait individually. Now many of the students are able to use the knowledge they have gained to see the ten-frame as a unit of 10! They are realizing that two ten-frames added together make twenty, are counting on, adding and subtracting. Those students who were/are counting the self-portraits individually are being challenged to shift their thinking and rather mentally manipulate the information. These ten-frames have meaning to the students because they were excited to figure out how many friends were in our class each day.
