Unit Plan 3 (Grade 1 Math): Facts within 10—Strategies & Games

Focus: Build fluency within 10 using doubles, near doubles, make-10, and count-on/count-back strategies in playful, structured practice.

Grade Level: 1

Subject Area: Mathematics (Operations & Algebraic Thinking)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

Students solidify within-10 facts by selecting from a strategy menu and explaining why a choice is efficient. Daily games and quick routines promote accuracy, flexibility, and speed without rush—students justify moves and self-check.

Essential Questions

• Which strategy (doubles, near doubles, make-10, count-on/back) fits this fact—and why?
• How do tools (ten-frames, rekenreks, number paths) help me see the fact?
• How do I know my answer is reasonable?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Solve addition/subtraction facts within 10 using doubles, near doubles, make-10, and count-on/count-back.
2. Choose an efficient strategy for a given fact and explain the structure they noticed.
3. Represent and check facts with ten-frames, rekenreks, number paths/lines, and fact triangles.
4. Track personal growth with simple fluency charts and reflect on next steps.

Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 1 (threaded across the unit)

• 1.OA.6: Add/subtract within 10 using strategies such as counting on; making ten; decomposing a number leading to a ten; using the relationship between addition and subtraction; and creating equivalent but easier or known sums.
• Mathematical Practices: MP.7 (look for and make use of structure), MP.8 (look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning). MP.1–MP.6 supported in routines.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can solve a fact within 10 and name the strategy I used.
• I can show my thinking with a model and explain because ____.
• I can check with a different strategy or the inverse fact.