Lesson plan Grade 1 Math
Willow Bend Creek Cleanup: A Grade 1 Add-and-Subtract Fluency Lesson
A 35-minute grade 1 lesson where students build addition and subtraction fluency within 20 by combining and counting paper litter pieces from a pretend creek cleanup.
Objectives
- Students will add and subtract within 20 using making-ten and counting-on strategies.
- Students will explain which strategy they used to combine or split a set of litter pieces.
Vocabulary
Key words: making ten, counting on, litter, combine
Teacher overview
Willow Bend Creek runs behind the school, and volunteers hold a cleanup day there twice a year to pick up trash before it washes into the water. This lesson brings that event into the classroom with paper litter cutouts that pairs of students count, combine, and split, using the counts as a built-in reason to practice fast, fluent addition and subtraction within 20. A common error at this age is counting all the pieces from one every time instead of counting on from the larger number, which slows students down and increases mistakes; this lesson specifically models counting on.
Procedure
Hook (5 min): Hold up 8 paper litter pieces in one hand and 6 in the other. Ask: "Without counting one at a time from the start, how could we figure out how many pieces that is in all?" Take a few strategy ideas before naming "counting on" as one fast way.
Direct instruction (10 min): Model counting on from the larger number: start at 8 and count "9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14" while adding one paper piece at a time, landing on 14. Then model making ten with a different pair, 7 and 5: break the 5 into 3 and 2, add 3 to 7 to make 10, then add the last 2 to reach 12. Write both strategies on chart paper as quick reference.
Guided practice (10 min): In pairs, students receive two small handfuls of litter pieces (the teacher assigns counts such as 9 and 4, or 6 and 8) and combine them using counting on or making ten, then write the total. After combining, one pair member removes a stated number of pieces (for example, "take away 5") while the partner finds how many remain.
Independent practice (5 min): Each student solves three quick fact cards independently: 9 + 5, 14 - 6, and 8 + 7, using whichever strategy from the chart they prefer, and writes the strategy name next to each answer.
Closure / exit ticket (5 min): Students write one answer on an index card: "A cleanup bag has 7 pieces of litter. A volunteer adds 6 more pieces. How many pieces are in the bag now?" Collect and check for the correct total before dismissal.
From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.
Answer Key
- Answer: 9 + 5 = 14.
- Answer: 14 - 6 = 8.
- Answer: 8 + 7 = 15.
- Exit ticket answer: 13 pieces. 7 + 6 = 13.
Differentiation
Support
Provide a printed ten-frame for students to fill in as they make ten, and allow physical litter pieces to stay out during independent practice instead of moving to numbers only.
Extension
Ask students to solve a fourth fact card, 9 + 8, and explain in one sentence which strategy was faster for them and why.
ELL supports
Pair "counting on" and "making ten" with a matching hand motion (fingers walking forward for counting on, two hands snapping together for making ten) that the whole class practices together. Allow the exit ticket answer to be shown with drawn litter pieces instead of only a written number.
Extensions
Invite students to bring home a family version of the litter count using safe household items (paper clips, buttons) to practice the same addition and subtraction strategies outside of class.