Last Updated on July 6, 2024 by Editorial Team
Can Number Also have Bonds Between Them? The answer to this query is a big YES.
If two numbers are added, subtracted, divided, or multiplied, we are actually building a pattern of the bond between them, it can be practiced in a better way using number bonds anchor charts.
Using the number bond anchor chart, children can learn to convert whole number into some parts. And it works the other way around too. Means, the parts can be operated upon to yield the whole number again. You can understand the process by this example.
Suppose, the equation is = 3 + 4 = 7
Number bonds tell us that 7 – 4 will be equal to 3, and also, 7-3 will be equal to 4.
This example is the introduction that grade I students are taught mostly. On moving higher to levels 3 and upwards, the addition and subtraction bonds are replaced by multiplication and division. The number bonds anchor chart can grow in complexity with the increase in number calculation proficiency.
How to teach number bonds?
Many teachers feel frustrated when they are not able to find a rhythm or connection with the students while teaching number bonds to them. They find that the concept leaves children confused especially when their number sense is not so strongly developed. To ease the concerns of teachers in this regard, we bring you here some of the easy-to-connect teaching materials that can make number bonds very easy to understand for kids. These materials most comprise of number bonds charts as illustrated below. You can also download the free printable pdf version of the number bonds charts by the link given below each chart.
How to make number bonds charts interesting?
A child feels connected when the numbers in the empty spaces of the bond charts are replaced by things they love. For example, to represent the number ‘5’, the teachers can make use of dummies like foam balls. The other interesting teaching or mediation ways you can use to make number bonds charts absorbing for the young learners are:
- Story-telling: You can create a short story of eggs to establish the concept of a whole number and its parts to illustrate number bonds on the anchor chart. There are several other elements like pizza or a box of chocolates that give a better idea of the wholeness of the number to a child. By breaking the pizza into pieces, or taking chocolates out, you can help kids understand the number bonds and the working of the chart. This is also classified as concrete teaching of number bonds.
- Number talks: By doing small rounds of number talks, you can leave the spots in the equations chart empty, and ask children to come up with strategies to fill with various number options. Thus, you can assess whether the kids are absorbing the intended purpose of the number bonds or not. It is a strategic problem-solving style of teaching number bonds.
- Pictorial presentations: Teachers can ask the child to demonstrate the number bonds on the whiteboard or a plain piece of paper. They draw the number bond figures first and then ask the child to write the composite number’s broken parts. Thus, this helps children build fluency with number bond concepts. Also, it helps them confident of doing mental calculations after attaining fluency in the number breaking activity.
Basic outcomes of Number Bonds Charts
The number bonds charts prove to be an effective tool in building basic math skills in an early learner. The common outcomes achieved through number bonds charts are:
- Mental calculation fluency: Kids, with the practice of various number combinations, attain calculation fluency and can give answers without actually counting the numbers.
- Number decomposition: Kids learn how to decompose numbers into parts, which is essential for building number sense or understanding the concept of quantity.
- Quick concept recall: When the teacher sets the time like 3-4 seconds, the brain is trained to calculate mentally and give an answer quickly and so the concept of addition or subtraction becomes effortless to recall.
An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’,