If you would like to help your child learn the addition facts within ten, here is a FREE resource I hope you will find helpful. I have tried several math curricula for my son with Down Syndrome, but when it came to independence, accuracy, and fluency in working out the addition facts within ten, he did not make any real progress until we introduced the rekenrek. And so I found myself making worksheets and eventually this workbook for him and the kids in our coop, and for any child who needs extra help with addition.

A rekenrek (which means “counting rack”) is a 20-bead abacus with red and white beads.

Here are some advantages of using a rekenrek (as opposed to traditional abacuses or ten frames and counters)

• The size of the beads make the rekenrek easy to use for children who struggle with fine motor skills
• There are only twenty beads. (100 beads can be a little overwhelming and unnecessary when you’re only dealing with facts within ten or twenty). For this workbook we are only practicing addition within ten, but two rows of ten beads allow for comparing quantities.
• The color scheme allows children to subsitize quantities, which is helpful for developing number sense and for adding numbers quickly.
• It is great for visual learners
• You don’t need lots of little counters (which easily fall on the floor or get lost)

Simply Addition Level 1 contains the teacher’s guide and the worksheets (with plenty of review) all in one workbook.

Here are some sample teacher pages:

Here are some sample addition worksheets to be used with the rekenrek:

By the way, there are many ways to help a child who feels overwhelmed by a whole sheet of math facts:

• If you have a child who is still struggling to write numbers, practice the facts with flashcards instead or have your child dictate the answer to you.
• You do the worksheet and let your child watch you model. After several sums, encourage your child to slide the beads on the rekenrek. Eventually invite your child to tell you what answer to write down.
• Take turns doing the sums (or you do one column and your child does the other)
• Make two copies of the worksheet. You both work on it independently and then check each other’s answers.
• Offer a preferred activity upon completion of the worksheet.

In order to help our students generalize their math skills, real life word problems with picture support are included with every lesson. For example:

 

There are 16 steps/lessons and 183 pages in this workbook. Some children will not need to do all of the review worksheets, while other kids may need to go through the workbook twice before mastering the facts.

Download it here for free:

For your convenience, Simply Addition Level 1 is also available at Amazon here.

Here’s a little video of Junior practicing the addition facts:

 

Stay tuned for Simply Subtraction Level 1 and Simply Addition Level 2.