Plus means we added. Adding means putting the numbers or things together.

We used what we already knew that is 5 plus 5 equals 10. Then we did 5 plus 4, that is one less, so the result is 1 less, that is 9.

We already knew the addition

We wrote the equation. The addition symbol means plus and the two lines mean equal or is the same as.

Counting and drawing

We used fingers to count using 5 in 1 hand and 4 in the other. We were able to count in this problem as the numbers were small, but if the numbers are bigger, we do not have enough fingers.

Counting with fingers and checking with sticks

We wrote the complete answer or solution to the problem and the numbers that appear in the problem.

We wrote the equation as we already knew that 5 plus 4 is 9

We put the biggest number in our heads and then we go on counting.

Here we underlined what we did not know before. In one of the calculations we are adding but in the other one we are taking away.

The symbol equal means that if you put the two numbers together the result is....