Creating Number Sentence Families with Addition and Subtraction

MatholiaChannel

This video introduces the mathematical concept of "number sentence families" (often called fact families) to young learners. Through clear, slow-paced visual demonstrations, it illustrates how three specific numbers can be related through both addition and subtraction equations. The video uses concrete objects—teddy bears and potted plants—to visually represent quantities, making abstract arithmetic concepts tangible. The content focuses on two distinct examples. The first uses a group of 5 teddy bears (3 brown, 2 pink) to demonstrate the relationships between the numbers 2, 3, and 5. The second example uses a row of 8 plants (5 green, 3 purple) to show the relationships between 3, 5, and 8. For each set, the video explicitly writes out four related equations: two addition problems demonstrating the commutative property (e.g., 3+2 and 2+3) and two subtraction problems demonstrating the inverse relationship (e.g., 5-3 and 5-2). This resource is highly valuable for early elementary classrooms introducing addition and subtraction connections. It visually reinforces the commutative property of addition and the concept of inverse operations without needing complex vocabulary. Teachers can use this video to transition students from counting physical objects to writing formal equations, providing a bridge between concrete manipulatives and abstract symbolic math.