Support your students in building fluency with number combinations to ten using the bright and engaging Friends of Ten Task Cards: Counting Gumballs! Developing automatic recall of Friends of Ten is a key skill for young mathematicians, laying the foundation for efficient mental maths and supporting success with all mathematical operations across primary school.

This interactive set of task cards offers a hands-on and visual way to practise number bonds to ten. Each card features a collection of ten gumballs in two colours. Students count the number of gumballs of the first colour and record the number in the first blank circle, then count and record the number of gumballs of the second colour in the second blank circle. This process encourages accurate counting, visual discrimination, and understanding of part-part-whole relationships within ten.

The Friends of Ten Task Cards: Counting Gumballs are part of our comprehensive Friends of Ten Task Card Package, which is designed to be stored in Kmart Photo Storage containers for easy organisation and quick access. You can also pair these cards with our Friends of Ten Worksheet Package and our engaging range of interactive digital games to build a well-rounded fluency program.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• ✅ Develop fluency with number combinations that total ten
• ✅ Strengthen part-part-whole understanding and number sense
• ✅ Build mental maths speed, accuracy, and flexibility
• ✅ Support visual discrimination and accurate counting
• ✅ Provide hands-on, interactive fluency practise

What’s Included:

• Friends of Ten Task Cards: Counting Gumballs set
• Each card features:
  • - Ten gumballs displayed in two colours
  • - Two blank circles for recording the quantities of each colour
• Part of our Friends of Ten Task Card Package, which also includes:
  • - Ladybug Dots
  • - Rainbow Facts
  • - Fingers to Ten
  • - Baking Ten Pastries
  • - Alien Code
  • - Butterfly Catch
  • - Animal Pairs
  • - Ice Cream Sprinkles
  • - Treasure Sorting
  • - What’s Missing
  • - Unicorn and Stars

Materials Needed:

• Printed and laminated Counting Gumballs task cards
• Whiteboard markers and erasers
• Storage container (e.g. Kmart Photo Storage box) for easy organisation

How to Use:

1. Print and laminate the Counting Gumballs task cards for durability and repeated use.
2. Model how to count the number of gumballs of each colour and record the quantities in the blank circles.
3. Discuss how both numbers combine to make ten and model using part-part-whole language.
4. Students complete the cards independently, with partners, or in small groups using whiteboard markers.
5. Rotate task cards regularly and pair with other Friends of Ten activities for ongoing fluency practise.

Ideas for Classroom Use:

• 💡 Include in Maths rotations as a hands-on fluency activity.
• 💡 Use during small group intervention sessions to target part-part-whole understanding.
• 💡 Provide as a fast finisher task to reinforce fluency with number bonds to ten.
• 💡 Pair with Friends of Ten Apple Picking and Race to the Sky games for extra variety and engagement.
• 💡 Incorporate into daily warm-up activities to ensure regular, consistent practise.

Top Teacher Tips:

• 💛 Store all task cards in a Kmart Photo Storage container for easy access and quick classroom setup.
• 💛 Encourage students to verbalise their thinking as they count and record the number combinations.
• 💛 Use Counting Gumballs task cards as an informal assessment tool to monitor fluency progress.
• 💛 Provide visual supports (such as tens frames) for students who need extra scaffolding.
• 💛 Combine with our Friends of Ten Worksheet Package to further consolidate fluency through written practise.

The Friends of Ten Task Cards: Counting Gumballs provide a colourful and interactive way to develop fluency with number combinations to ten - helping your students build confidence, flexibility, and accuracy in their mental maths skills!