Teaching Composing Numbers in Kindergarten

This post was originally published in February 2015 and was updated in November 2026.

If you’re looking at A6.5 (compose quantities to 10) and you’re wondering how to teach it so students understand it, and follow it up with practice they actually want to do, I’m here to help!

I first wrote about teaching composing back in 2015, right after my class finished decomposing. When I introduced the new unit, I asked the class what they thought composing meant. A student was able to guessed that composing means putting numbers together. My Composing Numbers units have had a few aesthetic updates since, and last year I updated the curriculum language inside them. The expectation itself hasn’t changed, so if you’ve taught composing in the past, rest assured that not much is different.

Everything in this post comes from my years in the classroom. As always, please use whatever works for you and your students. ☺️

In this post, I’ll share:

• What the 2026 curriculum expects
• Why I teach composing after decomposing
• A ten-day progression for teaching composing, day by day
• Hands-on centres for continued practice
• Word problems, plus a digital option
• Possible look-fors as students compose

What the 2026 curriculum expects

In my lesson plans, composing falls under A6.5, which I label “compose quantities to 10” in this unit and “decompose quantities to 10” in my Decomposing Numbers unit.

It’s another expectation where the numbering changed but the actual expectation has stayed the same. In my 2026 math scope and sequence, composing sits in February right after decomposing, before students move on to addition and subtraction in April.

A few notes that might save you some questions:

• What does “compose” mean? To compose a number means to make it, or put it together. Students take two or more numbers and put them together to make a bigger number: 3 and 2 make 5.
• Which numbers should I start with? I started with 5 and then moved on to 10, just like I did with decomposing.
• Which sentence frame do I use? I use “___ and ___ make ___” for two numbers, and “___ and ___ and ___ make ___” when students are ready to compose three numbers.

Why composing after decomposing?

I teach composing right after decomposing, so that students have already seen that numbers are made of smaller parts.

Now we look at the same idea from the other direction. Instead of starting with 5 counters and splitting them into 3 and 2, we start with 3 and 2 and put them together to see that they make 5. The parts are the same, and so is the whole.

That’s what makes composing such a good bridge to addition. Once students understand that parts come together to make a whole, “3 and 2 make 5” starts to look a lot like 3 + 2 = 5.

Decomposing lays the foundation for composing, and composing lays the foundation for addition!

My ten-day progression for teaching composing

Here’s the sequence I used in my lesson plans, which begins with large-group practice on five- and ten-frames and moves toward word problems. Every class is different, so please stretch it, shorten it or reorder it to suit your students. (The lesson plans, mats and recording sheets for all ten days are in my printable Composing Numbers unit.)

Day 1: Introducing composing with 5

I started by introducing the learning goal and success criteria so students knew what we were working on:

• Learning goal: We are learning to compose numbers. Compose means to make.
• Success criteria: I can take 2 or more numbers and put them together to make a bigger number.

I also introduced the sentence frame, “___ and ___ make ___”, so students had the language to talk about what they did.

For the activity, we did a Roll & Compose on a five-frame. Put a large five-frame in the middle of the carpet and roll a 0 to 5 die. Students put that many counters of one kind on the frame, then fill the rest with a different counter. Then ask, “What two numbers make 5?” and practise the sentence together, “___ and ___ make 5.” Repeat as time allows.

Our composing bulletin board

I put our learning goal, success criteria and sentence frames on our math board so students could refer to them, and I added photos and samples of student work as we went. We started co-creating this when we started our composing numbers unit and added to it when we moved on to addition.

Here is a closer look at one of the ten-frame recording sheets next to a photo of students composing with snap cubes.

Day 2: Composing to 5

Review the learning goal and success criteria, then introduce the composing to 5 mats. Each mat shows a five-frame with part of the number already filled in, like “2 and ___ make 5.” Show students how to add counters to fill the five-frame and complete the sentence.

Day 3: Composing to 10

Same idea as Day 1, but now with a ten-frame. Draw a large ten-frame on chart paper, roll a 5 to 10 die and have one student add counters of one kind for that number. Another student fills the rest of the ten-frame with a different counter. Then a student says the composing sentence, “___ and ___ make 10.” Repeat as time allows.

The printable also has composing to 10 mats, so students can practise the same thing on their own once they know the routine.

Day 4: Spin & Compose

Show students how to play Spin & Compose. They spin the spinner and write the number they land on the first line, then spin again and write the second number on the second line. Then they use manipulatives to show the two numbers, push them together, count them and write the answer on the last line. Read the composing sentence together, and repeat as time allows.

I make the spinner with a brad and a paper clip, but a paper clip and the tip of a pencil work too. You can also get transparent spinners to put over the circle like in the photo. The exact ones I bought aren’t available anymore but this is something similar.

Day 5: Domino Parking Lot

Show students how to count each side of a domino, then compose the two sides to find the total number of dots. Then show how to “park” the domino in the right spot. Repeat as time allows.

Photo used with permission. Taken and posted to @joysofkinder on Instagram by Allie Apels.

This popular printable is a free download! You’re welcome to grab it below. I hope your students enjoy it if you end up trying it.

Day 6: Composing Word Problems, Day 1

Now that students have the language and the routine, we’re ready for composing word problems. If you taught problem-solving steps during decomposing, bring the same routine in here: understand the question, make a plan, try the plan and talk about our thinking.

For the first problem, I used:

NAME has 2 ITEMS. NAME #2 has 3 ITEMS. How many ITEMS do they have all together?

Change the names to students in your class and the items to things your students like. My students loved hearing their own names in the problems when I was in the classroom, and the printable includes an editable PowerPoint version so you can change any part of the question.

Free composing word problems printables

These are the composing word problems I used in my classroom and we displayed some on our co-created bulletin board. I could easily change the numbers for each student based on their ability, and my students loved picking the names of the people in their word problems. If a student chose a strategy other than “draw a picture,” I took a photo of it and added it to their work.

You can grab both composing word problem printables for free below.

Day 7: Composing word problems, day 2

Try another problem the same way, this time with a story where something is added:

NAME has 4 ITEMS. NAME #2 gives her 3 more. How many ITEMS does NAME have now?

Students can draw their thinking or use the cut-and-paste pictures included in the printable.

Day 8: Composing word problems, day 3

This problem has a missing part, which makes students think a little differently. Students know how many they started with and how many they ended up with, and they figure out how many were added:

NAME has 5 ITEMS. NAME #2 gives him some more. Now NAME has 7 ITEMS. How many ITEMS did NAME #2 give him?

The sentence frame still helps here. Students can show 5 and some more on the mat, count up to 7 and talk about what they did.

Day 9: Composing and decomposing word problem

This problem brings both ideas together:

NAME has 5 cupcakes. He already invited 1 friend to share them with. How many more friends should NAME share his cupcakes with?

Students can compose and decompose to figure it out, and it’s a good chance to talk about how the two ideas connect.

Day 10: Review

Finish with a review day. Pick a problem students found tricky and try it again with different names and items. It’s a good way to get insight on who is feeling confident and who might want another round of practice.

Composing centres for continued practice

Once students know the routines from the ten days, these centres give them more time with the same idea. They use materials you likely have in your classroom already (counters, snap cubes, mini erasers, play dough), and they’re a good example of educator-directed play: students are playing with the materials, and the skill is built in on purpose. I slowly introduce them, usually one new centre after every lesson or two. As always, choose the ones that suit your students best!

Hands-on centres

Composing mats

The five-frame and ten-frame mats from Days 2 and 3 work well at a centre. Print them on cardstock and laminate them for durability. Students place counters on the mats and write the numeral with dry-erase markers, or show it with magnetic letters. If you’re using small manipulatives like play dough or beads, print two or even four mats to a page to make mini mats and save paper and ink.

Spin & Compose

Students spin twice, record both numbers and push the manipulatives together to find the total. The printable has spinners for 0 to 5 and 5 to 10, in colour and black and white, so you can choose the numbers that fit your students.

Place & Compose

These mats work with a few different materials, so you can switch them up through the unit:

• A deck of cards. Remove the face cards, have students take two cards, put them in the boxes and compose the two numbers.
• Number cards. Print two sets of the number cards, place them face down and have students pick two, place them on the mat and compose. There are several picture card options, so choose the ones that fit your students’ interests.
• Handfuls of counters. Students grab a handful of counters for the first box, a second handful for the second box and compose the two groups.

The printable includes Pick & Compose, Grab & Compose and Place & Compose mats, all with two boxes and a composing sentence, so you can use whichever title matches how your students are playing.

Roll & Compose

Students roll a die twice and put that many counters in each box, then compose the two numbers. Or they can roll two dice at the same time, one for each box. Use regular dice or the dice included in the printable.

Recording their thinking

The I Can Compose! recording sheet is a simple template you can add to any composing centre, so students can show their thinking no matter which materials they’re using.

Word problem centres

Set out the composing word problems with counters, snap cubes or dry-erase markers and let students show how they solved each one. Students can draw their thinking or use the cut-and-paste pictures included. Because the printable comes with an editable version, you can change the names to students in your class or to things your students love.

Mini books

The printable has two mini books so students can keep their own record of composing. In the Composing Numbers Mini Book, students draw pictures to solve the composing sentences (or use crayons, stamps or stickers). Print a cover and four to six pages for each student. There are two page options for each sentence, so use the one that works best for your class or group.

The Composing with Bugs Mini Book is a second option. Print a cover and a few two-number or three-number pages, or a mix of both, and offer the page with the bugs so students can cut and paste them into their books.

Composing with Google Slides

If you’d like a no-prep option, I created a digital version for projecting and teaching, or for use at a centre. Students compose by dragging cubes into the space below, completing composing sentences with cubes, fingers and counting bears, and composing the two sides of dominoes by dragging numbers to the lines. There are problem-solving slides with animals and scenes where students drag the pictures to help solve the problem, plus slides for composing three numbers. You can read more about what’s included in the Google Slides unit here.

Tips for planning and differentiating

• Start small. Spending two days on 5 before moving to 10 gives students time to get comfortable with the language before the numbers get bigger.
• Let materials do the supporting. Offering two colours of counters, or a frame to place them in, can make it easier to see the parts. Take them away when students are ready.
• Stretch when it makes sense. Composing three numbers, the dominoes in the digital unit and word problems with a missing part are all easy ways to extend the learning.
• Move between composing and decomposing. After students compose 3 and 4 to make 7, ask, “How else could we make 7?” It’s a quick way to connect the two ideas.
• Revisit it often. A quick “What two numbers make 8?” works well at a centre or during a transition.

Possible look-fors as students compose

These are some starting points for what you might notice as students compose. They aren’t a checklist, since every student will show their learning in different ways.

• Puts two numbers together to make a bigger number, using counters or other materials
• Counts all of the objects to find the total
• Fills a five-frame or ten-frame to complete a number
• Notices that different pairs of numbers can make the same total
• Begins to compose three numbers
• Records the matching composing sentence, with support as needed
• Finds a missing part in a story problem, with support as needed
• Talks about their thinking using words like “and,” “make” and “altogether”

If you’d like these lessons ready to go

I put this sequence together in two versions:

• Kindergarten Composing Numbers Lessons & Centres (Printable)
• Digital Math for Kindergarten | Composing Numbers Activities | Google Slides™

Composing numbers is also included in the Ontario Kindergarten Math System.

I hope these ideas help make your planning a little easier!

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