Learning Number Bonds

The learning of number bonds is often neglected and undervalued but a child who can confidently and fluently recall number bond facts has a definite head start in their journey as a good mathematician.

What are number bonds?

They are numbers who when add together make a total number e.g number bonds for 5 are 1 + 4, 2 + 3 etc. They are a little bit like what teachers or children call number families. But number families may link to the four number operations of add, subtract, multiply and divide.

Why are they so important?

It helps your child quickly make links and add and subtract in simple and more complex maths, without resorting to using their fingers or counting on in their head.

How do we learn them?

At first when children learn to recognise that a quantity in a group is the total, they may count objects. This is a concrete way of learning which is the opposite of abstract where children can work out calculations mentally and often the calculations have numerals and symbols.

Concrete, pictorial, abstract

Concrete It is important that if a young child starts off with counting objects or resources such as counters, buttons, (chocolate ones are ideal and then you can work out take away!), pencils, pens, teddies etc The signs of + need to be fully understood and the words add used, then exchanged for the symbol + (which is abstract to young children).

Pictorial Children can draw pictures of objects to show the number bonds or worksheets may show a pictorial representation of a number bond.

Abstract Children recognise their numbers and can read them. (often skill that is over looked especially with recognising teen numbers and teen/ty confusions - that`s another article in itself!)

Learning number bonds can be done eventually as rote learning but there are lots of fun ways to learn them. (another article will follow for exciting ways to learn number bonds!)