My name is Bond. Number Bond.

I got this rather humourous title from an ex-colleague of mine - a Maths and Social Studies teacher. He posted a picture on my Face Book comment when I complained about number bonds. Interestingly, a Primary School teacher (my student) liked my rant as well. So maybe my thoughts about number bonds are widespread? At least I have proven that two other persons disliked this idea.



First, what are number bonds? It is two numbers that make up bigger number.  For example, 6+4=10 or 7+10=17. Apparently, the word was first used in 1920s and it entered the Singapore curriculum in the 1970s. This is from Wikipedia - interestingly that that Singapore was specified. I know for sure that the American Common Core use number bonds as well. 

It is pretty basic stuff. The complication, I believe, comes when it is used to add or subtract bigger numbers, like 13-7. One strategy, is called 'making 10'. This is when you break the bigger number into 10 & 3. Then, you use 10-7 to get 3, and then add 3 and 3 to get 6. Another strategy is when you subtract 13-8. You can break the 8 (in this case, the smaller number) into 3 and 5. Then, you take 13-3-5=5.

It seems simple, right? But wait... if your child can handle these sums mentally already, then why in the world do you need him to do additional steps?

When I tried to prepare my son for his Maths test, I tried to explain the two variations to him. The variations took some time getting used to (I needed to think about them as well, being unused to such ideas). It made him grumpy. But then I realised he did not need such strategies. He could add and subtract fine. And the school worksheets did not emphasise this. I decided to just let it be. 

After the test, I asked him if he had any issues with number bonds, he said there were no number bond questions - just straight forward addition and subtraction. Thankfully, I did not press the issue. I think I need to refer more to his worksheets next time.

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