Exploring Addition Patterns

Please Note: this material was created for use in a classroom, but can be easily modified for homeschooling use.

Overview

This lesson provides students with an opportunity to learn and use addition patterns to find sums.

Objectives

 Students will use basic addition facts and place-value patterns to add greater numbers.
 Students will understand and use the Order Property of Addition and the Zero Property of Addition.

Materials

 Guided practice worksheet: Addition Patterns

 Independent practice worksheet: Practicing Addition Patterns and Properties
 Extension worksheet: Identifying Patterns
 Homework worksheet: Patterns of Additions
 Enrichment worksheet: Circus Logic
 Circus Contest
 Exploring Addition Patterns - Assessment Questions

Procedure

1. Introduce key vocabulary: addition, equal, sum, addends.

2. Review place value. Write the numbers 70, 530, 4, and 2,691 on the chalkboard in the form of a chart like the one
below. Ask students to name which number is in the thousands place, hundreds place, tens place, and ones place.

Number Thousands Hundreds Tens Ones

70 0 0 7 0

530 0 5 3 0

4 0 0 0 4

2, 691 2 6 9 1

3. Have students use mental math to find each sum.

4 + 3 = (7)

40 + 30 = (70)

400 + 300 = (700)

5 + 7 = (12)

50 + 70 = (120)
 500 + 700 = (1,200)

9 + 4 = (13)

90 + 40 = (130)

900 + 400 = (1,300)

4. Discuss the patterns. Students should see the basic addition fact (4 + 3 = 7), and understand that greater sums are
similar because the digits on the left are the same. Only the number of zeros to the right varies. (4 tens + 3 tens = 7
tens. 4 hundreds + 3 hundreds = 7 hundreds).

5. Distribute the guided practice worksheet: Addition Patterns and assist students as they work.

6. Have students look carefully at problems 4 and 8. Ask:

o What is the same about the two equations? (They have the same sums.)
o What is different? (The order of addends is different.)
7. Help students postulate the Order Property of Addition: changing the order of the addends does not change the sum.
Have students look carefully at Exercises 9 and 10. Ask:
o What would happen if you added 0 ones to 8 ones? (You would still have 8 ones.)
o What if you added 5 ones to 0 ones? (5 ones)
o Ask students what effect adding zero has. (None -- the sum is the same as the non-zero addend.)
8. Help students articulate the Property of Zero –when you add zero to any number, that number is the sum.
o To further illustrate the use of Order Property and the Property of Zero , use the following example: Circus
Contest.
o Distribute the independent practice worksheet: Practicing Addition Patterns and Properties.

Assessment

 Have students answer the Assessment Questions to gauge their understanding of patterns and properties of addition.
 Students should be able to:
 Use addition patterns in finding sums.
 Recognize place-value patterns and know that basic addition facts can help when adding greater numbers.
 Demonstrate how to use the Order Property and the Property of Zero.

Extension

 Use the extension worksheet: Identifying Patterns, to build on the ideas presented in this lesson.
 Distribute the homework worksheet: Patterns of Addition, and have students complete it. You may want to go over the
answers as part of a class discussion.
 Divide students into groups of two. Distribute the enrichment worksheet: Circus Logic, and have partners work
together. Discuss the answers as a class. If time permits, challenge students to create their own logic puzzles.
 Visit Funbrain for more Math games.

Provide students with an opportunity to learn and use addition patterns to find sums.