K-5 friendly lesson
One small step at a time.Read the idea, try the activity, and celebrate each win as you go.

Use models to add a two-digit and a one-digit number - with regrouping

Sometimes we have too many ones! πŸ“¦ Let’s learn how to trade 10 ones for a ten rod. This is called regrouping, and it’s a key to unlocking bigger addition problems!

Do this: Read the concept below, then try the quiz or activity.

Lesson 48 of 186

Concept

Regrouping in addition is what we do when we have 10 or more 'ones'. We can't write a two-digit number in the ones place, so we have to trade them up!

Visual: Let's solve 27 + 5 using place value blocks. 1. Show 27 with 2 ten rods and 7 one cubes. 2. Show 5 with 5 one cubes. 3. Combine the ones first. You have 7 + 5 = 12 ones. 4. Oh no, that's more than 9! Take 10 of those ones and regroup them. Trade them for 1 new ten rod. 5. You'll have 2 ones left over. 6. Now, count your tens. You started with 2 rods, and you added 1 more from your trade. You now have 3 ten rods. 7. What do you have in total? 3 ten rods and 2 one cubes. That's 32! So, 27 + 5 = 32.

Key Idea: Any time you get 10 or more in the ones column, bundle 10 of them together and move them over to the tens column as a single ten.

Try it

Practice: Use models to add a two-digit and a one-digit number - with regrouping.