Ink-saving
White cards with coloured borders and the animals in colour. For every animal rescued, your child colours in a star.
Download PDFBridging through 10: addition
Bridging through 10 is the big step in Year 1 / Grade 1: problems like 8 + 5, where the answer goes past 10. This free worksheet practises only these problems, 32 of them, all with answers from 11 to 18. Eight animals are stuck in the vines, and every right answer helps to set them free. Print it as a PDF, no sign-up needed.
Colouring version
Black and white for any printer. Once an animal is rescued, your child gets to colour it in.
Download PDFFree for home and the classroom. Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0, so feel free to print, copy and pass it on, just don't sell it. If you share the sheet online, please link to this page. CC BY-NC 4.0
How the worksheet works
- Each of the eight animals has three problems to work out and one gate problem, just like in the game: out of three answers, your child circles the right one.
- When all four problems are right, the animal is rescued: in the ink-saving version your child colours in its star, in the colouring version the whole animal.
- There is no answer key on purpose: check the answers together, ideally in two steps through 10 (8 + 5 = 8 + 2 + 3 = 13).
Tricks for adding across 10
Make a ten first
8 + 5 = 8 + 2 + 3 = 13Split the second number so that the first one becomes 10. Then add the rest.
Know the number bonds to 10
8 + 2 = 107 + 3 = 106 + 4 = 10Knowing how much is missing to 10 makes bridging through 10 much easier.
Doubles beyond 10
6 + 6 = 127 + 7 = 148 + 8 = 16The doubles up to 9 + 9 are good anchor points.
Near doubles
7 + 8 = 7 + 7 + 1 = 15For neighbouring numbers, use the double and add one.
Plus 9 is plus 10 minus 1
9 + 6 = 16 − 1 = 15With 9 you cross 10 fastest.
Start with the bigger number
4 + 9 = 9 + 4 = 13Swapping the numbers makes the way to 10 shorter.
Common mistakes
- 8 + 5 = 12↔8 + 5 = 13
A step gets lost when splitting the number.
What helps: 8 + 2 = 10, then 3 of the 5 are left: 13.
- 7 + 6 = 113
The 10 and the rest are written side by side instead of added together.
What helps: 10 and 3 make 13. Showing it on a twenty frame helps.
- 9 + 4 = 12↔9 + 4 = 13
Miscounting when counting on past 10.
What helps: 9 + 1 = 10, then 3 more: 13.
For teachers
The sheet practises only problems that bridge through 10, so it fits the second half of Year 1 / Grade 1 or revision in Year 2 / Grade 2. It pairs well with the bridging through 10 subtraction sheet. The colouring version prints on any black-and-white photocopier.
Rather practise with a game?
In Number Jungle your child runs through the jungle and dashes through the gate with the right answer. The same problems, matched to their school year, with no ads and offline. Free for Android, iPhone and iPad.
More about the game →FAQ
Which year group is this worksheet for?
From the second half of Year 1 / Grade 1, when bridging through 10 (making a ten) comes up, and for revision in Year 2 / Grade 2.
Is the worksheet really free?
Yes. It is free, with no sign-up and no email address. You may print and copy it for home and for the classroom.
Is there an answer key?
No, on purpose. Checking with subtraction helps: if your child worked out 8 + 5 = 13, they can check it with 13 − 5 = 8. For the gate problems, the right answer is one of the choices anyway.
What is the difference between the two versions?
The ink-saving version has animals in colour and a star to colour in. The colouring version is completely black and white, and the rescued animal itself gets coloured in.
How can my child keep practising bridging through 10?
Short, frequent practice helps most. For example with the free game Number Jungle: facts that are still wobbly come up more often until they stick.