Fact Family Trees

First Grade Math

by Lily Jones August 10, 2018

Number facts are related, just like families! Help students learn all about fact families while they make fact
family trees!

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to write related facts.

Materials and preparation Key terms

Class set of the Frosty Fact Families: Addition fact families

and Subtraction worksheet
Paper
Pencils/crayons

Attachments

Frosty Fact Families: Addition and Subtraction (PDF)

Introduction (5 minutes)

Write the following problems on the board:

3+4=7
4+3=7
7-4=3
7-3=4
Ask students to turn to a partner and share what they notice about the facts.
EL

Beginning

Instruct students to repeat after you, "Three plus four equals seven" as you point below the equation.
Repeat with the other facts.
Provide sentence frames to guide students:
The equations are the same because ____.
The equations are different because ____.

Intermediate

Provide the sentence frame, "I notice ____" to use during the turn and talk.
Invite a few students to share what they noticed about the equations with the class. Tell students to give
a thumbs up if they noticed the same thing as a classmate.

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling (10 minutes)

Tell students that the facts on the board are in the same fact family. Fact families are math facts that
are related. Fact families use the same numbers but can use both addition and subtraction.

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 Draw seven circles on the board, three in one color and four in another. Walk through visualizing each of
the facts you listed on the board, showing how three plus four is seven, seven take away three is four,
etc.
Explain that this fact family is made up of the numbers 3, 4, and 7. Write the numbers above the facts on
the board.
Draw a tree shape with the numbers 3, 4, 7 at the top of the tree and the facts in the trunk. Tell students
that sometimes people make family trees to show their relatives. Fact family trees can show how the
same numbers can come together to make related facts!
EL

Beginning

Create an anchor chart for reference. Write: "+ plus sign, more" and "- minus, sign less".
Show students how to form a plus sign with both arms as they repeat, "Plus sign". Next, gesture with
hands far apart and have them repeat in a loud voice, "More."
Tell them to gesture with one arm parallel to the ground as they repeat, "Minus sign," and then gesture
with hands close together as they repeat in a quiet voice, "Less."
Write = equal sign, is the same as as gesture with your arms forming an equal sign as students repeat
after you, "Equal sign."

Intermediate

Review that "fact" means the same thing as "equation" or "number sentence." Make a connection
between facts found in non-fiction books, and math facts (both are true).
Tell student to turn and talk to a partner to describe how they are related to someone in their family
using the sentence frame, "I am related to ____, because s/he is my ____." Ask students time to name
relatives. Review content-specific vocabulary words (e.g. aunt, cousin) if needed.

Guided Practice (5 minutes)

Draw a new tree on the board. Write the numbers 5, 1, 6 at the top.
Have students turn to a partner and share as many facts that they can think of that use all three
numbers. Tell students there are four possible facts to come up with.
Ask students to share the facts they thought of with the class. Write the four related facts in the tree
trunk on the board.
EL

Beginning

Provide individual whiteboards and dry erase markers for students to record their thinking.
Point out the addition facts, and tell students that these are sometimes called "turn around facts." If we
know that 5 + 1 = 6, that can help us solve 1 + 5 = 6.

Intermediate

Challenge students to write fact families that include 0.

Tell students to write a fact family would include a doubles fact, for example 4 4 8. Point out the since the
addends or parts are the same, there is only one addition and one subtraction fact in the family.

Independent working time (20 minutes)

Hand out the paper to each student. Have them draw trees with a fact family in them. Support students
as needed to start with the right three numbers. Allow them to guess and check as needed to realize how
to come up with numbers that work together.
When students finish, hand out the Frosty Fact Families: Addition and Subtraction worksheets for
students to complete.

Get more lesson plans at https://www.education.com/lesson-plans/

EL

Beginning

Model drawing a tree with a fact family in it. Think aloud, "First I will draw the trunk and branches. Now I
will choose 3 numbers for my fact family. I know that 5 + 4 = 9, so I will choose 5, 4, and 9. I will write all
four related facts across the trunk of the tree."
Point out the the sum or total of the two smaller numbers is at the top of the triangle on the Frosty Fact
Families worksheet. Ask students to describe how knowing which number is the total helps them to write
the fact family.

Intermediate

Have students share their fact families and read their equations aloud in a small group.
Ask students to draw a domino with a corresponding fact family.

Related books and/or media

Find interactive books for each child’s level.

Differentiation

Support:

Have students work with a partner to create a fact family tree.

Give students the three numbers to work with when creating their fact family trees.

Enrichment:

Have students create multiple fact family trees.

Challenge students to use bigger numbers.

Assessment (5 minutes)

Ask students to post their fact family trees around the room.
Have students circulate around the room to look at each other's work while you assess student
understanding.
EL

Beginning

As students circulate, encourage them to read the four equations aloud.

Ask students how the facts are related.

Intermediate

Prompt students to describe the steps to write a fact family in their own words.
Prompt students to name the parts of the equations including plus sign, minus sign, equal sign, sum and
difference.

Review and closing (5 minutes)

Call on a couple students to reflect on the work they saw around the room.
Ask students to share what they learned about fact families.
EL

Beginning

Provide the sentence frame, "I learned ____ about fact families."

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 Tell students that fact families show us that addition and subtraction are opposite operations.

Intermediate

Tell students an addition fact, and have them respond with a related subtraction fact.
Remind students that knowing addition facts will help us solve related subtraction facts.

Get more lesson plans at https://www.education.com/lesson-plans/

 Frosty Fact Families: Addition and
Subtraction
1) 2)

8 6

1 7 1 5
+ = + =
+ = + =
‒ = ‒ =
‒ = ‒ =
3) 4)

5 9

2 3 4 5
+ = + =
+ = + =
‒ = ‒ =
‒ = ‒ =

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