Bead String Tens Teacher Guide K – 1st Grade Math & Literature
Duration: 45–50 Mins
Bead String Tens Teacher Guide
Hands-On Skip Counting, Adding, and Subtracting with the 100-Bead Number Line
Core Objectives
Skip count by 10s up to 100 on a bead string.
Slide 10-bead chunks to model addition (+10, +20).
Slide back 10-bead chunks to model subtraction (-10, -20).
Essential Question
"How do color groups of ten help us jump forward and leap back on our 100-bead string without counting one by one?"
Materials Needed
• 100-bead string per pair (red/white)
• Wooden peg or clothes-pin slider
• "Barnaby’s Berry Vine" story text
• Student practice sheet & exit ticket
1
Literary Text Hook: "Barnaby's 100-Berry Vine"
5 Mins Read-Aloud
Read the rhyming poem together from the display slides or story handout. Introduce Barnaby Bear, who threads sweet forest berries in clusters of ten (ten red cherries, ten white currants) onto a long willow vine.
"Ten sweet cherries, ten bright plums, slide them over with your thumbs! Ten, twenty, thirty, more—soon he reaches ninety-four... push six more to make it sweet, one hundred berries on the street!"
Instructional Plan: Part 1
00–10 Min Warm-Up
Inspect the String & Color Shifts
Distribute bead strings pushed all to the right side (the "storage zone"). Ask students: "What pattern do you notice in the colors?" Guide them to verify that each block has exactly 10 beads. Practice the "Thumb Slide": sliding an entire block of 10 across to the left with one decisive push.
10–22 Min Choral Skip
Rhythmic Skip Counting by Tens to 100
Lead a call-and-slide rhythm: slide 10 red (say "TEN!"), slide 10 white (say "TWENTY!"), continuing to 100. Then reverse: sliding back from 100 while chanting down ("90, 80, 70..."). Highlight that 10 groups of 10 equals 100.
Kinesthetic Cue: Slap knees on odd tens (10, 30, 50), clap hands on even tens (20, 40, 60).
Unit: Number Sense & Base Ten Operations Page 1 of 2
Instructional Plan: Part 2 Application & Extension
Operations with Tens on the Bead String
22–32 Min Add Tens
Modeling Addition: "The Hungry Hop Forward"
Connect the story: Barnaby finds 30 berries (slide 3 groups of 10). Then his friend Flora gives him 20 more berries!
Teacher Script: "We start at 30. We need to add 20. How many tens is 20? Two tens! Watch me slide two more ten-groups across: 30... plus 10 is 40... plus 10 is 50! 30 + 20 = 50!"
32–42 Min Subtract
Modeling Subtraction: "The Berry Snack Slide-Back"
Barnaby starts with 60 berries active on his line. A playful squirrel eats 20 berries!
Teacher Script: "When we subtract, berries go back to sleep on the right! Let's slide back 2 groups of 10: 60... take away 10 is 50... take away 10 is 40! 60 - 20 = 40!"
42–50 Min Check
Partner Challenge & Exit Ticket
Partner A calls a problem (e.g., "Start at 40, add 10!" ); Partner B slides and reads the total. Hand out the Tens Snap Exit Ticket for independent check.
Grade-Level Differentiation
K Kindergarten Focus / Support
Keep additions to +10 and subtractions to -10 from friendly tens.
Use clothes-pins to mark tens boundaries so fingers don't slip into singles.
Chant along with color shifts: "Red ten, white twenty!"
1 1st Grade Focus / Extension
Practice jumps of +20, +30, -20, -30 fluently.
Bridge to mental math: write equations \(40 + 30 = 70\) alongside string actions.
Challenge: Start at non-tens (e.g. 23 + 10 = 33) for advanced students.
Watch Out! Common Primary Misconceptions
Unitizing Trap: Students count single beads instead of treating 10 as one whole unit. Remedy: Have students hold all 10 beads between thumb and forefinger together before pushing.
Direction Confusion: Forgetting which side is the active total. Remedy: Keep strings positioned left-to-right (zero on the far left, storage on the far right).
Unit: Number Sense & Base Ten Operations Page 2 of 2
Bead String Tens Slides Kindergarten & 1st Grade Math
100-Bead Number Line
Bead String Tens!
Skip Count, Add & Subtract Along the Hundred-Bead Line
10
20
30
40
50
···
100
Warm up your thumbs: Get ready to slide tens!
Story Time
Listen & Chant
🐻 Barnaby Bear
Barnaby's 100-Berry Vine
"Ten red cherries glowing bright, ten white berries in the light!
Slide them over, snap them neat—ten plus ten is such a treat!
Hop by tens along the vine, all the way to ninety-nine...
One more ten will make it true: One hundred berries fresh for you!"
How many berries are in each colored bunch? Ten!
Meet Your 100-Bead String
Look for the Pattern
← SLIDE ZONE (Active Count) WAITING ZONE (Asleep) →
10 Red
10
10 White
20
10 Red
30
10 White
40
10 Red
50
10 White
60
10 Red
70
10 White
80
10 Red
90
10 White
100
Every color group has 10 beads!
10 groups of 10 beads = 100 beads in all!
Choral Chant: Skip Count by 10s!
Push & Chant
10
ten
20
twenty
30
thirty
40
forty
50
fifty
60
sixty
70
seventy
80
eighty
90
ninety
100
one hundred
Red: Slap your thighs! | White: Clap your hands!
+ PLUS TENS
Adding Tens: Hop Forward!
Slide to the Left!
30 + 20 = 50
1. Start at 30 (3 tens) 2. Slide 2 more tens (+10, +10) 3. Land at 50!
30 Beads (3 Groups)
+ 20 (2 Groups)
Total = 50 Beads!
Say it with me: 30... hop 10 is 40... hop 10 is 50!
Bead Berry Rhyme Handout Math & Literature Read-Aloud
Name:
Date:
🐻 Barnaby's 100-Berry Vine
A Woodland Rhyme of Tens Along the Number Line
Choral & Echo Reading
Listen • Whisper • Chant
Deep inside the Whispering Wood,Barnaby Bear found a willow twine,
Ten red cherries shining bright,
Then Flora Fox bounded through the glen,
A playful squirrel took twenty away,
"Hop by tens to ninety-four... push six more to the forest floor...
Rhyme Family
T-E-N
ten • glen • ben • den
Math Power Words
PLUS & MINUS
Hop forward • Slide back
Big Goal
100 BEADS
10 groups of 10
?
Story Math Comprehension: Write & Show
1. How many berries were in each colored bunch on Barnaby's vine?
Answer:
berries in each bunch
2. Flora Fox added 20 berries to Barnaby's 30 berries . How many did they have together?
30 + 20 =
(Count by tens: 30... 40... 50!)
3. If Barnaby has 60 berries and slides back 20 berries for squirrel friends, how many remain?
60 − 20 =
(Slide back: 60... 50... 40!)
Draw or color Barnaby's alternating tens to 50: 10 Red • 10 White • 10 Red • 10 White • 10 Red
10
20
30
40
50
Bead String Tens • Literary Text Handout K – 1st Grade Mathematics
Tens Hop Practice Worksheet Student Practice • Part 1
Name:
Date:
Tens Hop Practice Worksheet
Skip Counting by Tens Along the 100-Bead Trail
p. 1
1
Skip Count Trail: Write the Missing Tens in the White Boxes
Follow the bead line from 10 all the way to 100.
10
20
40
60
80
100
2
Count the Tens: How Many Beads in All?
Each block has 10 beads. Count by tens and write the total.
A. 3 blocks of 10
10 10 10
=
B. 5 blocks of 10
10 10 10 10 10
=
C. 7 blocks of 10
10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70
=
D. 9 blocks of 10
9 groups of ten beads
=
3
Ten More Hop: What comes next?
10 more than 20:
10 more than 50:
10 more than 80:
Unit: 100-Bead String Operations Turn page for Adding & Subtracting Tens →
Student Practice • Part 2
Name:
Date:
Adding and Subtracting Tens
Slide Forward to Add • Slide Back to Subtract
p. 2
Hop Forward: Add the Tens! (Use your bead string)
Start at 20, hop 10 more:
20 + 10 =
Start at 40, hop 20 more:
40 + 20 =
Start at 50, hop 30 more:
50 + 30 =
Start at 70, hop 20 more:
70 + 20 =
−
Slide Back: Subtract the Tens! (Put beads back to sleep)
Start at 40, slide back 10:
40 − 10 =
Start at 60, slide back 20:
60 − 20 =
Start at 80, slide back 30:
80 − 30 =
Start at 90, slide back 40:
90 − 40 =
🐻
Barnaby's Story Challenge
Show Your Work
Barnaby Bear has 50 berries strung on his vine. Flora Fox brings him 30 more berries . How many berries does Barnaby have in all?
Draw your tens jumps or bead groups:
Write your number sentence:
=
berries in all
Bead String Tens • Student Practice Page 2 of 2
Tens Snap Exit Ticket 1
Tens Snap Exit Ticket
Level 1 • Grade 1
Multi-Ten Jumps (+20, −30)
Name:
Date:
1 Fill in the missing tens:
30 →
→ 50 →
→ 70
Hop forward by 10s
2 Hop Forward (+20):
50 + 20 =
Start at 50, slide 2 tens!
3 Slide Back (−30):
70 − 30 =
Start at 70, slide 3 tens back!
How do you feel about 10s?
😊 Great! 😐 Okay 🤔 Help me
Score: ___ / 3
Differentiated Tiers • Cut Here
K
Tens Snap Exit Ticket
Level K • Kindergarten
Visual Bead Support & Single 10-Hops (+10, −10)
Name:
Date:
1 Write the missing 10s:
10 → 20 →
→ 40 →
Chant: 10, 20, __, 40, __
2 One Hop Forward (+10):
30 + 10 =
🔴 3 tens + ⚪ 1 ten
3 One Slide Back (−10):
40 − 10 =
🔵 4 tens take away ⚪ 1 ten
Did you slide your beads?
👍 Yes, I slid tens! 👋 I need help
Score: ___ / 3
First Grade Tens Teacher Guide 1st Grade Math Operations & Base Ten
Duration: 45–50 Mins
First Grade Tens Teacher Guide
Multi-Ten Jumps (+20, +30, −20, −30) on the 100-Bead Number Line
CCSS Standards
1.NBT.C.4: Add within 100 using models.1.NBT.C.5: Mentally find 10 more or 10 less.1.NBT.C.6: Subtract multiples of 10.
Essential Question
"How can thinking in groups of ten help us add and subtract large numbers instantly without counting single beads?"
Manipulatives
• 100-bead strings (10 red / 10 white)
• Dry-erase markers & clothes-pins
• "Flora Fox's Berry Market" story sheet
• Grade 1 Practice Worksheet & Exit Ticket
1
Literary Hook: "Flora Fox's Berry Market"
Story & Mental Math Hook
In this 1st grade companion story, Flora Fox runs a forest trading post where berries are bundled into baskets of 10. Customers arrive wanting 20 more berries or trading back 30 berries.
"Four baskets of ten stood proud in the sun—forty sweet berries, the market begun! Along trotted Badger requesting thirty more: slide three tens forward to seventy in store!"
Instructional Plan: Part 1
00–10 Min Warm-Up
Sprint of Tens: Forward & Backward
Students rapidly slide tens while chanting forward (10, 20... 100) and backward (100, 90... 10). Next, challenge with "Ten More / Ten Less Flashes": hold up a digit card (e.g., 40), students shout "Ten more is 50! Ten less is 30!" and slide to verify.
10–25 Min Multi-Ten Add
Modeling Multi-Ten Addition (+20, +30)
Introduce the equation \(30 + 30 = \text{?}\). Model sliding 3 tens (30) to the active left side. Say: "We need to add 30. How many tens is 30? Three tens! Watch my fingers slide all three tens together in one big leap!" Track landing: 30... hop 10 is 40, hop 10 is 50, hop 10 is 60!
Key First Grade Bridge: Connect 3 tens + 3 tens = 6 tens (\(3 + 3 = 6\)) to \(30 + 30 = 60\).
Hundred Bead Trail • Lesson 2: 1st Grade Page 1 of 2
Instructional Plan: Part 2 Deepening Operations
Subtraction & The Number Line Bridge
25–35 Min Subtract
Multi-Ten Subtraction: "The Big Slide Back"
Model \(80 - 30 = \text{?}\). Students build 80 on their bead string. Guide them to push back 3 full tens to the right: "80... minus 10 is 70... minus 10 is 60... minus 10 is 50!"
First Grade Tens Slides 1st Grade Mathematics
Multi-Ten Operations
First Grade Tens Leap!
Adding and Subtracting Multiples of Ten on the 100-Bead Line
40 Beads + 30 Beads = 70 Beads!
Mission: Hop by tens forward and slide back in big leaps!
Story Time
The Trading Post
🦊 Flora Fox
Flora Fox's Berry Market
"Four bunches of ten stood proud in the sun—forty sweet berries, the market begun!
Along trotted Badger asking for thirty more: slide three tens forward to seventy in store!
Then friendly Raccoon returned twenty to keep: slide two tens back to where berries sleep!"
Badger added 3 tens (30) • Raccoon subtracted 2 tens (20) !
+ ADD MULTIPLES OF 10
The Multi-Ten Leap Forward
Hop +30
40 + 30 = 70
1. Start at 40 (4 tens) 2. Hop 3 tens: +10 (50), +10 (60), +10 (70) 3. Land at 70!
40 (4 Tens)
+ 30 (3 Tens)
7 Tens = 70 Beads
Think: 4 tens + 3 tens = 7 tens ! So \(40 + 30 = 70\)!
− SUBTRACT MULTIPLES OF 10
The Multi-Ten Slide Back
Slide −30
80 − 30 = 50
1. Start at 80 (8 tens) 2. Slide back 3 tens: −10 (70), −10 (60), −10 (50) 3. Land at 50!
50 Left Over (5 Tens)
− 30 Slid Back (3 Tens)
5 Tens = 50 Beads
Think: 8 tens − 3 tens = 5 tens ! So \(80 - 30 = 50\)!
The Tens Equation Bridge
Mental Math Power
Single Digits
5 + 2 = 7
5 ones + 2 ones = 7 ones
Multiples of Ten
50 + 20 = 70
5 tens + 2 tens = 7 tens
"If you know your basic facts, you already know your tens!"
First Grade Tens Challenge!
Partner Duel
Missing Mystery Ten
"I started at 30 and landed on 80 ! How many tens did I add?"
30 + [ ? ] = 80
The Giant Backward Leap
"I started at 90 and slid back 4 tens ! Where am I?"
90 − 40 = [ ? ]
Grab your pencils for First Grade Tens Worksheet!
Flora Fox Berry Story Handout 1st Grade Literature & Math
Name:
Date:
🦊 Flora Fox's Berry Market
A Rhyming Woodland Adventure in Multi-Ten Math
Read, Think & Solve
Woodland Market Rhyme
Beneath the ancient, mossy oak,Flora Fox set up her stand,
She strung her beads in groups of ten,forty berries sweet and fair!"
Brave Badger brought in thirty more ,seventy berries look divine!"
Then Sammy Squirrel bought twenty to share,fifty berries stay complete!"
"With tens we hop, with tens we slide—great mathematics far and wide!"
First Grade Vocab
BUNDLE OF TEN
1 ten = 10 single berries
Multi-Ten Hop
+30 (THREE TENS)
40... 50, 60, 70
Multi-Ten Slide
−20 (TWO TENS)
70... 60, 50
?
Story Equations: Prove with Numbers
1. Flora started with 40 berries and Badger added 30 berries . Write the addition equation:
40 + 30 =
(Hint: 4 tens + 3 tens = ___ tens)
2. Flora had 70 berries . Sammy bought 20 berries . Write the subtraction equation:
70 − 20 =
(Hint: 7 tens − 2 tens = ___ tens)
3. Number Line Challenge: Draw a jump of +30 from 40 to 70 Draw jump arrow above line
40
70
Hundred Bead Trail • First Grade Literature Handout 1.NBT.C Operations
First Grade Tens Worksheet 1st Grade Math • Part 1
Name:
Date:
First Grade Tens Worksheet
Adding Multiples of Ten with Bead Line Models
p. 1
1
Multi-Ten Leaps: Add Multiples of Ten (Use your 100-bead line)
A. Start at 30, hop 2 tens (+20):
30 + 20 =
B. Start at 20, hop 4 tens (+40):
20 + 40 =
C. Start at 50, hop 3 tens (+30):
50 + 30 =
D. Start at 60, hop 3 tens (+30):
60 + 30 =
2
Fact Bridge: Use Single Digits to Solve Tens
If you know the single digit fact, write the tens fact total!
3 + 4 = 7 ➔ 30 + 40 =
2 + 5 = 7 ➔ 20 + 50 =
6 + 3 = 9 ➔ 60 + 30 =
4 + 4 = 8 ➔ 40 + 40 =
3
Missing Tens Mystery: What number makes the equation true?
40 +
= 70
How many tens added?
20 +
= 60
How many tens added?
50 +
= 90
How many tens added?
Hundred Bead Trail • 1st Grade Operations Turn page for Multi-Ten Subtraction →
1st Grade Math • Part 2
Name:
Date:
Subtracting Multiples of Ten
Slide-Back Operations & Open Number Line Models
p. 2
4
Slide Back: Subtract Multiples of Ten
Start at 70, slide back 2 tens (−20):
70 − 20 =
Start at 80, slide back 3 tens (−30):
80 − 30 =
Start at 90, slide back 5 tens (−50):
90 − 50 =
Start at 60, slide back 4 tens (−40):
60 − 40 =
5
Open Number Line: Show the Jumps!
A. Show 50 + 30 on the line: Landing spot:
50
Draw 3 jumps (+10, +10, +10)
B. Show 80 − 40 on the line: Landing spot:
Draw 4 backward jumps (−10)
80
🦊
Flora's Market Problem
1.OA Word Problem
Flora Fox had 90 berries in her baskets. A family of friendly rabbits bought 50 berries for their picnic. How many berries does Flora have left?
First Grade Tens Exit Ticket 1
First Grade Tens Exit Ticket
Formative Check
Multi-Ten Operations & Missing Addends
Name:
Date:
1 Add Multiples of 10:
40 + 30 =
4 tens + 3 tens = ___ tens
2 Subtract Multiples of 10:
80 − 40 =
8 tens − 4 tens = ___ tens
3 Find the Missing Ten:
30 +
= 70
How many tens were added?
Confidence Check:
🌟 Super confident! 👍 Got most right 🤔 Need practice
Score: ___ / 3
Cut Here • 2 Tickets Per Page
2
First Grade Tens Exit Ticket
Formative Check
Multi-Ten Operations & Missing Addends
Name:
Date:
1 Add Multiples of 10:
40 + 30 =
4 tens + 3 tens = ___ tens
2 Subtract Multiples of 10:
80 − 40 =
8 tens − 4 tens = ___ tens
3 Find the Missing Ten:
30 +
= 70
How many tens were added?
Confidence Check:
🌟 Super confident! 👍 Got most right 🤔 Need practice
Score: ___ / 3
