Lesson plan

Fluently Adding Within 1000

Adding big numbers can be tricky, but this lesson introduces your students to a strategy that makes it less intimidating! Using the place value strategy will make the task less daunting.
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Grade Subject View aligned standards

Students will be able to solve addition problems using the place value strategy.

(15 minutes)
  • Explain to your students that place value is the position and value of a digit in a number.
  • Come up with a number, such as 14,262, to help the students determine the place and value of a particular number.
  • Explain to your students that the ten thousands place of the number is 1, the thousands place of the number is 4, the hundreds place is 2, the tens place is 6, and the ones place is 2.
(15 minutes)
  • Give your students an example, such as 487 + 264.
  • Have your students rewrite the addition problem in place value numbers: 400 + 80 + 7 = 200 + 60 + 4.
  • Next, instruct your students to add the numbers on both sides of the equal sign based on place value: (400+200) + (80+60) + (7+4). Then, narrow it down to 600 + 140 + 11.
  • Explain how you get to the final answer of 751.
(15 minutes)
  • Direct your students to solve 618 + 363.
  • Ask your students to write out the problem in place value format.
  • Have one student come up to the board to demonstrate.
  • Review it with the class for accuracy.
(15 minutes)
  • Give the students the Addition within 1000 worksheet to complete.
  • Enrichment: Give your students four digit numbers, and have them add those. Offer other strategies to quickly add three digit numbers.
  • Support: Give your students two digit numbers to add before they can add three digit numbers together.
(10 minutes)
  • Monitor the students as they work, making sure the problems are done correctly, in that they are justifying their answers by showing their work in coming up with the answers for adding within 1,000.
(15 minutes)
  • Ask for volunteers to share their answers to the problems assigned.
  • As the problems are reviewed in front of the class, have the students check their answers for accuracy.

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