Do you ever wish you had a magic wand when trying to build math fact fluency? Wouldn’t it be fantastic to wave your wand and have your students able to answer numerous equations? One strategy to help you achieve this dream is to teach your students the Commutative Property of Addition.Â
Why is teaching this strategy like a magic wand? Let me explain. When you teach students that 2+3=5, they can use the commutative property of addition to answer 3+2=5.
I like to begin by writing the big long words “Commutative Property of Addition” on the board. We read the name on the board and discuss how smart we sound when we read the name of the property. We repeat it a few times and make sure we make our voices sound important and dignified.
Then I begin giving examples of the property to help my class understand how simple the property is. They eat it up because what first or second grade student doesn’t want to sound so smart!
Commutative Property of Addition
Now what is the definition of this addition property? The Commutative Property of Addition states the order of the addends in an addition equation does not affect the sum. It doesn’t matter if you add 9+7 or 7+9, the sum will always be 16.
This strategy is included in these addition and subtraction posters to help you develop fact fluency. They are simple and clear reminders to help your students. Type your name and email in the boxes and then check your email. You will be glad to use these posters!
Here are three steps to help your students practice this property in ways that are engaging, understandable, and fun.
Step 1: Use Manipulatives
Give students 2 kinds of small manipulatives like buttons or cubes and ask them to create their own addition equations. Let them rearrange the objects to demonstrate the Commutative Property. By using manipulatives, students can physically show that changing the order of the addends does not change the sum.
Step 2: Draw Pictures to Teach the Commutative Property of Addition
After your students have had sufficient time to develop understanding with manipulatives, begin drawing pictures. You can model for your students how to draw simple pictures to represent the addition of numbers. I love using markers and small white boards. I find using simple circles and squares work the best, but you can choose the type of picture you want to use. Since they have had experience with using manipulatives, it helps them translate this knowledge to pictures.
Step 3: Use Storytelling and Real-World Examples
You can create stories to help these concepts become more solidified. For example, you can tell a story about a child who has three red marbles and two blue marbles. I like to have them draw this on their whiteboard. Then we apply the commutative property and show that the sum remains 5.
Here are some examples.
- If you have a candy jar with 5 pieces of red candy and add 2 pieces of yellow candy to the jar, how many pieces of candy do you have? If you have 2 pieces of red candy and add 5 pieces of yellow candy to the jar, how many pieces of candy do you have? (For candy pictures, I have them draw quick circles.)
- If you have 5 blue pencils in your pencil box, and then you add 6 yellow pencils to your pencil box, how many pencils do you have? If you have 6 blue pencils in your pencil box and add 5 yellow pencils to your pencil box, how many pencils do you have? (For pencil pictures, I have them draw quick lines.)
After you use these three steps, you will feel amazed that they worked like a magic wand to help your students successfully use the Commutative Property of Addition. Your wand isn’t just in your imagination because your students will use this property to solve addition equations. And your students will be building math fact fluency!
Here are some other links to help you.
Introducing Properties of Addition
Commutative Property of Addition
