Lesson Topic: Lesson 7.

1 Fact Families Grade level: First Grade Length of lesson: 50 minutes

Desired Results
State Content Standard(s):
 1.CA.1 Demonstrate fluency with addition facts and the corresponding subtraction facts within 20. Use
strategies such as the relationship between addition and subtraction (e.g., knowing that 8 + 4 = 12, one
knows 12 – 8 = 4).

Central Focus: Essential Question(s):

The goal of this lesson is for students to deepen How are different math facts related? 
their understanding of the relationship between
addition and subtraction by learning about fact
families.

Student objectives (outcomes):

Students will be able to:
 Add and subtract within 20.
 Understand and apply properties of operations.
 Recognize the relationship between addition and subtraction.
 Write fact families and use the relationship between addition and subtraction to solve problems.

Assessment Evidence
Performance Task(s): Other Evidence:

Observe as students complete journal page 134. Observe as students write fact families for each domino
Expect children to accurately record the addition given to them.
and subtraction facts for the dominoes in Problems
1-4.

Learning Plan
Learning Activities:
Start the lesson by having the students sit on their assigned dots on the carpet. Row by row, have students
return to their desks to grab a clipboard and a pencil. Students should return to the carpet after collecting their
materials.

As soon as everyone returns to the carpet, inform the students that their clipboards and pencils should be
placed on the floor in front of them and should not be touched unless told otherwise.
Pass out Math Masters, page 181. Have students complete the worksheet independently, with a pencil.

Have students share how they solved the problems on Math Masters, page 181.
Possible strategies for problem 2…
 Counting up
 Guessing and checking
 Solving an unknown-addend problem

Display a 4 I 6 domino. Help students see the domino as displaying a fact family by asking questions and
eliciting patterns.
 Which three numbers go with this domino? 4, 6, 10 Record these for the class.
 What number sentences can you write to represent this domino? 4+6 =10 6+4=10 10-4=6 10-6=4. If the
students only suggest addition number sentences, ask them for number sentences that use subtraction.
Record all four number sentences for the class.
 Circle the two addition facts, and ask: What do you notice about these facts? They have the same sum.
Why do they have the same sum? They have the same sum because we are adding the same two
numbers and the order doesn’t matter.

Students have been solving subtraction facts since Unit 4, but they might not yet know the term. Underline the
two subtraction facts and introduce them as such. Explain that these facts are related to or are made from the
same three numbers as the addition facts.

Repeat with 8 I 2 domino. Focus on the three numbers associated with this domino and the four number
sentences that can be written with these numbers.

Explain that the facts that can be written with the three domino numbers are related and are called a fact
family. Understanding fact families and the relationship between the facts can help children solve facts they do
not already know.

Explain to students that in a minute they will return to their desks to practice writing fact families on their
whiteboards. Have students return to their desks and get out their whiteboards and dry erase markers. Once at
their desks, distribute two dominoes to each student.

While passing out the dominos, allow students one minute to “explore” their whiteboards. Remind them when
time is up, they must put their dry erase markers down and listen. If a student does not follow the directions,
they will lose their privilege and will be asked to put their whiteboard and marker away.

Now that every student has two dominos, ask them to record the fact families for each of their dominoes on
their whiteboards. Have several students come up to the document camera and share their fact families.
 Ask: Do all of you have four number sentences in your fact families?
Encourage students with doubles dominoes to share their number sentences, prompting the class to justify why
there are only two facts in those fact families and to consider whether all doubles fact families have only two
number sentences.
 For doubles, the turn-around rule does not give a different fact, so I only have 1 addition fact and 1
subtraction fact.

Have students put away their whiteboards and dry erase markers. Tell students to get out their math journals
and find page 134. Have students complete the fact families for the dominos on page 134.

To end the lesson, while having students remind in their seats, display 8-5=? on the document camera. Ask:
Suppose that you do not know this fact. How could a fact family help you solve it? I can think of 5+__=8 and use
that to find the missing number.

To help students connect the operations, record the corresponding number sentences side-by-side (8-5=___
and 5+__=8). Explain that when they do this, they are thinking about addition to help solve a related
subtraction problem.

Add think addition to the Strategy Wall. Have students apply the think addition strategy to solve 10-2. Tell
children they will continue to use think addition to help them subtract in upcoming lessons.

Resources and Materials:

 Math Masters, page 181
 4 I 6 domino
 8 I 2 domino
 42 dominos; 2 dominos per student.
 Math Journal 2, page 134
Required Accommodations/Modifications:

Have students who are struggling with subtraction to ask themselves, “How many more do I need to add to get
to ___?” as they try to solve the problems.

Additional Modifications for Individual Students:

For the one student unable to write the addition number sentences, scaffold by turning the domino to illustrate
the turn-around rule.

Extending the Lesson

To further explore finding unknowns in number sentences and recording fact families, have students write facts
and complete their partner’s fact families in the game “Fact Family Swap”.