Addition in any order
Understand and apply the commutative property of addition: addends can be added in any order
Suggested ages 6–7
Learning journey
Your child is building strong foundations in addition and subtraction — learning to add and subtract numbers fluently within 20, understanding the relationship between these operations, and applying various mental strategies to solve problems.
Evidence of understanding
- Explain that 3 + 8 gives the same answer as 8 + 3
- Use commutativity to choose the larger number to count on from
- Demonstrate that subtraction is not commutative (5 − 3 ≠ 3 − 5)
Assessment prompt
Does Addition in any order know that 6 + 4 gives the same answer as 4 + 6, so they can always choose whichever order makes the adding easier?
Standards alignment
Apply properties of operations
Common Core State Standards for Mathematics · 1
Commutativity of addition
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document · Key Stage 1