Building Two-Digit Numbers with Bundles and Sticks
By Cindy Aossey (KCM) & Funda Gonulates (NKU)
Place-value manipulatives are critical for helping students to see and use the place-value
structure of numbers. In this video, we begin by building a given two-digit number with bundles
and sticks to show how tens and ones make up the number, then we move to counting forward and
backward from a given number by a group of ten or by ones. Activities such as these allow
students to notice how numbers change when adding or taking away tens or ones, including how to
make a new bundle of ten from single items or unbundle a ten when subtracting. Being able to
mentally add or subtract a unit of 10 or 1 is a critical first step to more efficient addition
and subtraction strategies.
Targeted Standards: KY.1.NBT.2, KY.1.NBT.5