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Addition as combining or putting together two

CONCEPTUAL
MathematicsAddition & Subtraction|Ages 4—6|ID: mt_OvyoRo47K-

Understand addition as combining or putting together two groups to find the total

Mastery Evidence

  • Model 'putting together' with physical objects and say the total
  • Act out an 'add to' situation (e.g. 3 children arrive, then 2 more join)
  • Explain that addition means finding how many altogether

Assessment Prompt

“If [child] has 4 toy cars and a friend brings 3 more, do they understand that adding means combining both groups — and can they tell you there are now 7 cars altogether?”

Curriculum Standards2 alignments

K.OA.1Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
Represent Addition and Subtraction

Represent addition and subtraction with objects, fingers, mental images, drawings, sounds (e.g., claps), acting out situations, verbal explanations, expressions, or equations.

Operations and Algebraic Thinking
Maths/Y1/AS/1The national curriculum in England
Read and write addition and subtraction statements

Read, write and interpret mathematical statements involving addition (+), subtraction (–) and equals (=) signs.

Mathematics · Key Stage 1

Prerequisites1

Show full prerequisite tree
  • How Many in Total? hard

    Understanding addition as combining groups requires knowing numbers represent quantities (cardinality)

    • One-to-one counting hard

      Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'