Add It Both Ways

About this activity

Children see addition cards like 4 + 7 and 7 + 4, or 5 + 9 and 9 + 5, and link each addition to the same two numbers added the other way — tap one card, then tap its swapped twin, and the matched pair connects. It's a free, interactive Grade 1 math card-matching game that plays right in the browser — no install, no account.

The big idea is the commutative property: 4 + 7 and 7 + 4 both make 11, so the order of the addends does not change the total. Each round shows six cards — three swapped pairs jumbled together — so children work out the totals and notice which additions use the very same numbers flipped around. They are not matching identical cards; they are recognizing that two different-looking sums are equal.

It is aligned to Common Core 1.OA.B.3 — using properties of operations, like the commutative property, as strategies to add. No timer, no score — just calm, playful practice.

What's inside this activity

• Designed for Grade 1 learners (ages about 6–7)
• Common Core strand: Operations and Algebraic Thinking
• Aligned to Common Core standard 1.OA.B.3

How to play

Look at the six addition cards and work out which ones use the same two numbers in a different order.

Tap an addition like 3 + 6, then tap its swapped twin 6 + 3, and watch the pair link.

Keep going until all three pairs are matched — there is no timer and no score, so take your time.

What your child practices

• Recognize that addends can be added in any order for the same total
• Add small numbers like 6 + 9 and confirm 9 + 6 gives the same answer
• Match each addition to its swapped twin among jumbled cards
• Use the turn-around fact as a strategy for adding more easily

Learning goals

Apply the commutative property of addition — the focus of Common Core 1.OA.B.3

Understand that changing the order of the addends keeps the total the same

Use turn-around facts to make adding within 20 quicker and more confident