Welcome to my math class!  This week, we will start talking about addition and subtraction. 

In this chapter, your student is learning about addition and subtraction. The addition lessons address joining objects of the same type and putting together groups of similar objects. The subtraction lessons address removing objects from a group, or comparing two groups to find how many fewer or how many more.

The vocabulary words associated with this chapter are: add, more, plus, minus, fewer, equals, equation, part, and whole.

There are many situations at home that you can use to model addition and subtraction. The kitchen is a great place to start! The maximum sum of objects for any activity in this chapter is 9. This aligns well with many cooking recipes.

When preparing part of a meal, or baking goods, use the following strategies:

• To model addition, separate the tomatoes, carrots, eggs, cups, or other food objects you are using for a recipe into two groups. Ask your student to count the number of objects in each group. Then ask, “How many are in each group? How many are there in all when I join the groups together?”
• Show your student the number of objects you currently have to make a food item. Then tell your student that you need a certain number of these objects (9 or fewer) for the recipe. Ask, “How many more do I need?”
• To model subtraction, show your student the number of objects (9 or fewer) you currently have. Then tell your student that you need a specific number of the objects (fewer than the given group) for the recipe. Ask, “How many fewer do I need?”
• Model other scenarios, making sure to use terms such as “take away,” “join,” and “difference.”

By the end of this chapter, your student should feel confident with the learning targets and success criteria on the next page. Encourage your student to think of other opportunities related to cooking to use addition and subtraction contexts, such as buying items at a grocery store.

Have a great time in the kitchen!