The use-tens strategy highlights that 5 is half of 10, so the product of a fives fact will be half of the product of a related tens fact. This strategy enables the students to easily figure out facts beyond the range of the basic facts.
Introduce this strategy by using cards like the one shown below. When the bottom flap is unfolded, the card shows a tens fact. When the flap is folded, the card shows a fives fact. Show the folded card and ask, What do you see? How can you figure out the total number of dots? Unfold the flap to reveal the tens fact. Encourage students to use the known tens fact to figure out the fives fact. The goal is to have students see visually WHY the fives fact is HALF of the related tens fact. In other words, 4 x 5 is half of 4 x 10 because half of the number of dots in the array is covered.
To view the blog post related to this resource, please click here: Skip the Skip-Counting Strategy for the Fives Facts – The Use-Tens Strategy is Better!
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