What is a number bond?

[jimblejambles]

Ds1 is in year 1 and has brought home a list of things to remember. The first one is "know all number bonds to 20". I asked him and he says he doesn't know so can anyone help please?

eg:

1+1=2
1+2 =3
1+3=4

ad infinitum (I think.....)

It's knowing which numbers upto ten make each number using pairs iyswim so the number bonds for 7 would be 3+4, 5+2 , 1+6 and 0+7.

number bonds are the two numbers that add up to make another number, so the number bonds for ten are:

1+9
2+8
3+7
4+6
5+5
6+4

etc
etc

Thank you that has saved me looking like a fool and having to ask his teacher. I have just read it again and the other thing it says is say the number names in order to 5. Do you think that is the same thing?

wait till you get onto partioning and place values ......

Hi,

I was about to post the same question and I'm so pleased I'm not the only one that was clueless.

Does anyone know a way to make learning bonds more exciting? DS (Y1) needs to learn his bond to 10 (if that is the correct expression) by next wednesday.

Thanks
CADS

Make it into a game of pairs. If he turns over two numbers which add up to 10, he keeps the pair.

Have a look here and here for a couple of good website games to practise number bonds to 10,

I made finger puppets for DD with numbers on (I made them from corners cut off envelopes) & she paired up the ones that added up to 10.

Number names in order to 5 means

one
two
three
four
five

I think we overcomplicate things at times. Wait 'til you get to 'chunking' as a means of division in year4!

Thank you for replying. Will try your tips.
So far not doing well in maths.

they are designed to over-complicate teaching maths imho

I was about to ask this too! We got a letter explaining that wht number bonds were and then said "eg. the numbers bonds for 5 are 5 and 1.. er, but that makes 6!! Was that just a typo?

Tinkjon - it looks like a mistake to me.

We were given the following for the number bonds for 10

9+1
8+2
7+3
6+4
5+5

and what the following which will definitely confuse ds (Y1) and I don't know how to explain to him.

10-1
10-2
10-3
10-4
10-5

He has a test on Weds on bonds for 10.
He hasn't even mastered adding and subtracting yet!! and already he is having maths tests.

He did place values last week (how many tens and how many units in the number 24?) and got 2/10 in his maths test this week . I thought we had mastered tens and units.

CADS

Isn't the point of number bonds to help him master adding & subtracting though? So that if he has good recall of the bonds, he will be able to quickly take 3 from 10 because he knows that 3 and 7 make 10.

Sorry, rustybear, don't think I explained myself properly. What I meant is that ds doesn't seemed to have grasped the concept of adding and subtracting.

When I was in year 1 we expected the children to learn that there were 11 number bonds that made 10 -

0 + 10
1 + 9
2 + 8
3 + 7
4 + 6
5 + 5
6 + 4
7 + 3
8 + 2
9 + 1
10 + 0

because although they may have learnt 3 + 7 equalled 10, it didn't always follow that 7 + 3 did as well!

A while ago there was a thread on number bonds and a poster had made up a rhyme to the tune of Row, Row, Row your Boat.
Can't remember it exactly but something like

1 and 9 are number bonds
2 and 8 are friends
3 and 7, 4 and 6
5 and 5 are twins

which is quite a nice way to help remember them!