Games for Educators

Use 4 + 2 to see two methods for doing beginning addition on your fingers..

Method 1: Use this method if both numbers are 5 or less. Put up 4 fingers on one hand and 2 fingers on the other. Bring the two hands together. Tada! Your student sees that 4 and 2 brought together becomes 6.

Method 2: Use “counting on” from one of the numbers to reach any sum up to 10.

To add 4 and 2, put up 4fingers on one hand, and count aloud from 0 to 2. For each spoken number after 0, put up one more finger. When 2 is reached, there should be 6 fingers raised.

This method allows addition of numbers bigger than 5. It’s easier to start with the larger number of fingers raised and count on using the smaller number.

There are two mental models for subtraction– “take away” and “difference.” Your student should be comfortable with both models. Here is 8– 5 calculated both ways:

Take away (on the left): Think of 8– 5 as what is left after you start with 8 things and take 5 of them away. Start with 8 fingers raised. Next, count aloud from 0 to 5, and for each number after 0 put one finger down. When 5 is reached in the count, there will be three fingers left up.

Difference (on the right): This model views 8– 5 as finding the difference or distance between the two numbers. Start with 5 fingers raised. Then count the new fingers being raised, and when there are 8 fingers raised the difference of 3 will have been counted.

This method uses the “counting on” addition method to find the number to add to 5 to get 8.

Mix in problems where a number is subtracted from itself, and where 0 is being subtracted.