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Fact Families and the Commutative Property

Lesson Plan
Grade 1
English

Fact Families and the Commutative Property

Lesson Plan: Fact Families and the Commutative Property

Duration: 45 Minutes | Grade Level: 1 | Standard: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.B.3



Lesson Objective

Students will be able to apply the commutative property of addition and understand the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction by generating four related facts for a given fact family (two addition and two subtraction equations).

Materials

  • Large fact-family triangle on the board or chart paper.
  • Counters or Unifix cubes (for support tiers).
  • Fact Family Worksheet (provided below).
  • Exit Tickets.



1. Hook (5 Minutes)

Draw a large triangle on the board with the numbers 3, 4, and 7 at the points.
fig 1: A fact family triangle showing the relationship between 3, 4, and 7.
fig 1: A fact family triangle showing the relationship between 3, 4, and 7.

Teacher Prompt: "Look at this triangle. We have a 3, a 4, and a 7. How are these numbers related? If I have 3 stickers and I get 4 more, how many do I have? What if I have 7 and I give 3 away? Today, we are going to learn how these numbers live together in a 'Fact Family' house!"



2. I-Do: Direct Instruction (10 Minutes)

  • Model the Commutative Property: Show the class that
    
    . Now, swap the 3 and 4. Ask: "What is
    
    ?" Explain that in addition, the order of the numbers doesn't change the total. This is the Commutative Property.
  • Model the Inverse Relationship: Explain that because the numbers are a family, we can also subtract. Show that if we start with the 'big' number (7) and take away one 'small' number (3), we get the other small number (4).
  • Write the 4 Facts:
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 



3. We-Do: Guided Practice (10 Minutes)

  • Use a new set of numbers: 2, 5, and 7.
  • Have students use their fingers or counters to show
    
    .
  • Call on students to come to the board and write one of the four related equations.
  • Check for Understanding: Ask, "Can we say
    
    ?" (No, in first grade, we explain that for subtraction, the biggest number—the 'total'—must come first).



4. You-Do: Independent Practice (10 Minutes)

Students will complete the Fact Family Worksheet. They will look at the three numbers in each 'house' and write the four matching equations.



5. Differentiation Tiers & Scaffolds

  • Tier 1 (Support): Provide students with physical 'Fact Family' cards and 10-frames or Unifix cubes to build the sums and differences visually before writing them.
  • Tier 2 (Target): Complete the worksheet as designed.
  • Tier 3 (Extension): Provide a challenge problem with a missing number in a larger fact family (e.g., __, 5, 15).
  • EL Scaffold: Use sentence frames for oral practice: "___ plus ___ equals ." and " take away ___ leaves ___."



6. Exit Ticket (5 Minutes)

Task: Write the 4 facts for the family: 6, 4, 10.
  1. ____ + ____ = ____
  1. ____ + ____ = ____
  1. ____ - ____ = ____
  1. ____ - ____ = ____



Fact Family Worksheet

Name:
Date:
Fact Family Houses Use the three numbers in each roof to write the four related facts.
5, 6, 11
__ + __ = __
__ + __ = __
__ - __ = __
__ - __ = __
2, 8, 10
__ + __ = __
__ + __ = __
__ - __ = __
__ - __ = __
4, 3, 7
__ + __ = __
__ + __ = __
__ - __ = __
__ - __ = __