Numbers to 10

Available Fall 2026

Students build number sense within 10 through counting, subitizing, and representing quantities. They compare and order numbers, explore 1 more and 1 less, and use five frames and ten frames to recognize structure and make sense of number relationships.

Math

Unit 2

Kindergarten

Unit Summary


In Unit 2, students build on the early number sense skills established in Unit 1, first within 5 in Topics A and B, then moving into numbers to 10 in Topics C and D. The math community continues to center student thinking, discourse, and joyful, playful engagement as students develop confidence and fluency with counting, representing, and comparing quantities.

In Unit 1, students developed foundational understanding of counting, one-to-one correspondence, and cardinality within 5. Through physical movement, counting collections, and math tool exploration, students connected quantities to multiple representations and began to see themselves as brilliant mathematicians whose ideas and strategies have value. 

In Topics A and B of Unit 2, students strengthen their understanding of numbers to 5 through subitizing, counting and building quantities, and connecting quantities to numerals, including writing numerals to represent quantities. They compare and order quantities within 5 using the language “more”, “fewer”, and “the same”, and explore number relationships by finding 1 more and 1 less.

In Topics C and D, this work extends to numbers within 10 as students use five frames and ten frames to recognize structure, represent quantities, and connect those quantities to numerals. They compare and order quantities within 10 and continue to use 1 more and 1 less to describe number relationships within the counting sequence.

Throughout the unit, students make sense of quantities and their relationships MP.2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively. , look for and make use of structure MP.7 Look for and make use of structure. , and construct viable arguments as they share and justify their thinking MP.3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. . This continues the critical work of representing and comparing whole numbers, building fluency within 5, and strengthening the numeracy foundation for future work with fluency within 10 1.OA.C.6 Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency for addition and subtraction within 10. Use strategies such as counting on; making ten (e.g., 8 + 6 = 8 + 2 + 4 = 10 + 4 = 14); decomposing a number leading to a ten (e.g., 13 - 4 = 13 - 3 - 1 = 10 - 1 = 9); using the relationship between addition and subtraction (e.g., knowing that 8 + 4 = 12, one knows 12 - 8 = 4); and creating equivalent but easier or known sums (e.g., adding 6 + 7 by creating the known equivalent 6 + 6 + 1 = 12 + 1 = 13). as well as addition and subtraction.

Assessment


The following assessments accompany Unit 2.

Mid-Unit

Have students complete the Mid-Unit Assessment.

Post-Unit

Use the resources below to assess student understanding of the unit content and action plan for future units.

Unit Prep


Intellectual Prep

Intellectual Prep for All Units

  • Read and annotate the "Unit Summary" and "Essential Understandings" portions of the unit plan. 
  • Do all the Target Tasks and annotate them with the "Unit Summary" and "Essential Understandings" in mind. 
  • Take the Post-Unit Assessment.

Unit-Specific Intellectual Prep

Essential Understandings

  • Represent numbers and quantities in various ways, including; using objects, images, five frames, ten frames, number names, and written numerals.
  • Recognize quantities through subitizing, using patterns and structure to build efficient, flexible number sense.
  • Compare quantities and describe number relationships using the mathematical language “more”, “fewer”, and “same”.
  • Order numbers and quantities to build understanding of number relationships, including 1 more and 1 less.
  • Use five frames and ten frames to recognize structure, represent quantities, and reason about numbers within 10.

Materials

  • Optional: Chart Paper (For Warm Up)
  • Bags of objects (1 bag of 6 objects per pair of students)
  • Dot Cards (0-5) (1 set per group of students and 1 for teacher) — These are the same material used in Unit 1
  • Pond Story Mat (1 per student and 1 for teacher) — If possible print in color and on cardstock and feel free to laminate or put in sheet protectors
  • Small Cups (1 set of 1-5 per pair of students) — Alternately may use egg cartons pre-cut to 1-5 spaces

To see all the materials needed for this course, view our Kindergarten Course Material Overview.

Vocabulary and Models

Unit Vocabulary

fewer

more

same

To see all the vocabulary for Unit 2, view our Kindergarten Vocabulary Glossary.

Lesson Map


Common Core Standards


Key

Major Cluster

Supporting Cluster

Additional Cluster

Core Standards

Counting and Cardinality

  • K.CC.A.1 Count to 100 by ones and by tens.
  • K.CC.A.3 Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects).
  • K.CC.B.4 Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality.
  • K.CC.B.4.C Understand that each successive number name refers to a quantity that is one larger.
  • K.CC.B.5 Count to answer "how many?" questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1—20, count out that many objects.
  • K.CC.C.6 Identify whether the number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to the number of objects in another group, e.g., by using matching and counting strategies. Include groups with up to ten objects.
  • K.CC.C.7 Compare two numbers between 1 and 10 presented as written numerals.

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

  • K.OA.A.3 Decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way, e.g., by using objects or drawings, and record each decomposition by a drawing or equation (e.g., 5 = 2 + 3 and 5 = 4 + 1).

Standards for Mathematical Practice

  • MP.2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively. Mathematically proficient students make sense of quantities and their relationships in problem situations. They bring two complementary abilities to bear on problems involving quantitative relationships: the ability to decontextualize—to abstract a given situation and represent it symbolically and manipulate the representing symbols as if they have a life of their own, without necessarily attending to their referents—and the ability to contextualize, to pause as needed during the manipulation process in order to probe into the referents for the symbols involved. Quantitative reasoning entails habits of creating a coherent representation of the problem at hand; considering the units involved; attending to the meaning of quantities, not just how to compute them; and knowing and flexibly using different properties of operations and objects.
  • MP.3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. Mathematically proficient students understand and use stated assumptions, definitions, and previously established results in constructing arguments. They make conjectures and build a logical progression of statements to explore the truth of their conjectures. They are able to analyze situations by breaking them into cases, and can recognize and use counterexamples. They justify their conclusions, communicate them to others, and respond to the arguments of others. They reason inductively about data, making plausible arguments that take into account the context from which the data arose. Mathematically proficient students are also able to compare the effectiveness of two plausible arguments, distinguish correct logic or reasoning from that which is flawed, and—if there is a flaw in an argument—explain what it is. Elementary students can construct arguments using concrete referents such as objects, drawings, diagrams, and actions. Such arguments can make sense and be correct, even though they are not generalized or made formal until later grades. Later, students learn to determine domains to which an argument applies. Students at all grades can listen or read the arguments of others, decide whether they make sense, and ask useful questions to clarify or improve the arguments.
  • MP.7 Look for and make use of structure. Mathematically proficient students look closely to discern a pattern or structure. Young students, for example, might notice that three and seven more is the same amount as seven and three more, or they may sort a collection of shapes according to how many sides the shapes have. Later, students will see 7 × 8 equals the well remembered 7 × 5 + 7 × 3, in preparation for learning about the distributive property. In the expression x² + 9x + 14, older students can see the 14 as 2 × 7 and the 9 as 2 + 7. They recognize the significance of an existing line in a geometric figure and can use the strategy of drawing an auxiliary line for solving problems. They also can step back for an overview and shift perspective. They can see complicated things, such as some algebraic expressions, as single objects or as being composed of several objects. For example, they can see 5 – 3(x – y)² as 5 minus a positive number times a square and use that to realize that its value cannot be more than 5 for any real numbers x and y.

Future Standards

Number and Operations in Base Ten

  • 1.NBT.A.1
  • 1.NBT.B.3

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

  • 1.OA.C.5

Standards for Mathematical Practice

  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1 — Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP2 — Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP3 — Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP4 — Model with mathematics.

  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP5 — Use appropriate tools strategically.

  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP6 — Attend to precision.

  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP7 — Look for and make use of structure.

  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP8 — Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

New Math Materials Now Live!

New Math Materials Now Live!

Now Live: All new Grade 1 units and enhanced Grade 7-8 materials. Coming soon: Brand new Kindergarten course and enhanced Grade 6!