Ten Frame

About this tool

A ten-frame is one of the most powerful pictures in early mathematics: ten boxes in two rows of five that let children see a number instead of only saying it. This free interactive ten-frame lets a child drag counters into the frame and watch each number take shape, one box at a time.

Because the frame always holds ten, children quickly begin to see numbers in relation to ten — that seven is "three away from full," or that five fills exactly one row. That sense of quantity is the foundation that counting, addition, subtraction, and place value all grow from.

It runs right in the browser on tablets, phones, and classroom computers, with nothing to install and no account to create. There is no timer and no score — just a calm, hands-on space to explore numbers.

How to use it in class

• Display the ten-frame on a whiteboard or hand it to children on tablets, and ask them to show a number by dragging counters into the boxes.
• Fill the top row first, then the bottom, so children build the habit of seeing ten as two fives.
• Ask "how many more to make ten?" and let children add counters until the frame is full.
• Use a double ten-frame to stretch the same thinking from ten up to twenty.

Classroom ideas

• Flash a quantity for a few seconds, hide it, and ask children how many they saw — a quick way to build instant number recognition.
• Show a number on the frame and ask children to say its partner to ten (a 4 needs 6 more).
• Build two small numbers on a double frame and count the total together to introduce addition.
• Let a child build any number they like and explain to a partner how they see it.