Ten-Frame Puzzles

Free puzzles to print

Each set: a Learn sheet with a worked example, 10 puzzles from easiest to hardest, and the answers.

• Level 1

  Ages 4–6 · Pre-K–K

  

  The easiest cards ask "How many dots?" on five frames and ten frames filled the usual way (top row first, left to right). Then "How many more make 10?" on four ten frames. Then find the two frames that make 10 together, and the frame that is not like the others. Three frames show the same number in different layouts, and one shows one more or one less; some dots are scattered. The hardest cards use double ten frames for 11 to 20, and the child writes the number.

  On the sheet: “Look at the ten frames. Answer each one.”

  Print Level 1 (Letter)Other paper size: A4

• Level 2

  Ages 6–8 · Grades 1–2

  

  First, "How many more make 20?" on double frames. Then adding on two frames, such as 8 + 5, where hollow dots fill the first frame to ten and the rest spill into the second. Then check the two double frames that make a teen number, such as 15. The hardest show several full frames and one part frame, and the child writes the number of tens and ones, up to 99.

  On the sheet: “Look at the ten frames. Answer each one.”

  Print Level 2 (Letter)Other paper size: A4

The thinking it works on

• Seeing numbers in fives

  Uses the row of 5 to see a number quickly.

  Jansen and colleagues (2014) found that 4- to 6-year-olds saw up to three dots at a glance. The layout of larger sets, such as dice patterns, mattered a lot. Source

• Pairs that make 10

  Knows how many more make 10.

  Fuson and Kwon (1992) found that Korean first graders solved most sums over 10 correctly, often by breaking numbers apart around ten. Number words like 'ten two' for 12 helped them. Source

• Teen numbers as ten and more

  Sees a full frame and some more as a teen number.

  In Ho and Fuson's (1998) study, about half of the Chinese 5-year-olds who could count high already saw a teen amount as ten and some ones. Their number words say 'ten two' for 12. Source

• The number stays the same

  Knows the number doesn't change when dots move.

  Houdé and colleagues (2011) found that 5- and 6-year-olds did not yet treat a number as unchanged when its items were moved apart, while 9- and 10-year-olds did. Source

• Testing pairs

  Checks pairs of frames in a steady way.

• Tens and ones

  Counts full frames as tens and the rest as ones.

  Mix and colleagues (2014) found that even 3-year-olds showed some skill at reading numbers with more than one digit. Children reached the top of these tasks by first grade. Source

Where is this thinking used?

• Fingers and hands: Two hands make ten, and one full hand is five.
• Coins: Ten pennies trade for a dime, so amounts are counted in tens and ones.
• Packs of ten: Pencils, crayons and markers often come in boxes of ten, so a gap shows what's missing.
• Rows of seats: Five seats in a row and two rows make a quick count of who is missing.