Break Up Numbers into Parts

What To Do

Talk about how people you see might be split up into groups. For instance, if you’re on the bus, ask your child to think of different ways people could split up to find seats.

Example: Oh look! 5 new passengers just got on. If 2 find seats in the front with us, how many will sit in the back seats? What if only 1 sits in the front seats with us? What are other ways they could split up?

What To Know

Having conversations like this helps your child understand different ways to break up—or decompose—numbers. This will help your child with basic addition and subtraction facts. Knowing that 5 people can be split into groups of 3 and 2 leads to knowing that 3 + 2 = 5.

Moving On

When your child can easily break up numbers less than or equal to 10, move on to a new activity.