Buy or make two-colored items such as beans or discs. Place them with a plastic tub. The student counts out the number of beans of the number "family" he is studying and places them in the tub. Shake out the beans. If four are red, and three are green, the student will know that the number sentence is either 4 + 3 = 7 or 3 + 4 = 7. The student records this by coloring a square on a prepared graph for the number family of 7. The graph lists all four addition sentences for the family across the x axis, and the numbers one to ten, representing the shake number, on the y axis. Student like to compare their graphs after they finish 10 shakes.
Use a house to introduce the idea of fact families. Draw a model house with a triangle roof and four rectangular pillars for supporting beams. The numbers in the family (we will use the family of 7 as an example) go in the roof (in this case, 3, 4 and 7). The facts are the supporting beams (3 + 4. 4 + 3, 7 - 4, 7 - 3). Show the students the roof; let them find the pillars. Create a new house each day with a new set of numbers.
Sort the numbers belonging to a particular fact family. Draw a domino from the sorted pile and write down the number sentences that go with it. This can be used for both addition and subtraction.
Online number games help engage young children in learning addition and subtraction facts. Feed Fribbit Addition and Feed Fribbit Subtraction allow students to practice number recognition and improve their recognition speed while learning the number family facts. Other addition and subtraction games allow the student to choose the missing piece of a number sentence while engaging them in a game. Find a wide variety of online math games for first-graders. Most do not require registration or payment, but do require that your computer have Adobe Flash Player, a free download. Math Blaster is an excellent free resource for fact family games, but does require parental registration.
Students sit in a circle. One take his or her place behind one of the seated students. For the first round, these two students are the only contestants. The teacher shows them a flashcard with a number sentence. Whichever student answers correctly first moves to stand behind the next seated person. The other student sits in the circle. The object is to move around the entire circle. This game can be played with students in their seats as well. To involve the rest of the students during each round, give them white boards to record their own answers.