Use what you know about doubles to find the answers.

• Use the counters to set up this question for your child: 3 + 4 = ____
  
  
  
• Move 1 of the counters away from the bigger group.
  
  
  
• Do you see the double 3? Push them together to show the total of 6.
  
  
  
• Add the 1 back in, to show 7 in all.
  
  
  
• Set up a harder question: 7 + 8 = ___.
  
  
  
• Move 1 of the counters away from the bigger group.
  
  
  
• Do you see the double 7? Push them together to show the total of 14.
  
  
• Add the 1 back in, to show 15 in all.
  
  
  
• Ask your child to use the counters to find some other sums that are nearly doubles. She may find 6 + 5 and 3 + 4 and 8 + 9 and 10 + 11. Write them down as she finds them. Some of these addition facts are hard to remember, but if you think of them as nearly doubles, they are easy.
  
  
• Look at all the nearly doubles you have written down. See if you can see the pattern.
  

Make a poster to show the near doubles.