This resource was created as a supplement for the Language Builder: ARIS® Academic Readiness Intervention System complete early autism curriculum, Lesson #182, Adding Using Counter Objects. Download a free copy of the lesson and learn more about ARIS here.
Addition can be a complex topic for autistic children. Yet learning to add is a functional skill that is needed to promote independence. Adding is also a prerequisite skill for other math concepts. Introducing addition should be done in a 1 to 1 setting when possible between student and teacher to ensure that the child understands the process.
Students are ready to start learning addition when they can receptively identify the numbers 1-10, express the numbers 1-10, and demonstrate 1:1 correspondence counting. These prerequisite skills are necessary before starting to teach addition.
When working with young learners, it’s essential to introduce addition using manipulatives. Using manipulatives to teach addition helps learners visualize the process. “Manipulatives help students learn by allowing them to move from concrete experiences to abstract reasoning.” Many neurodivergent individuals are visual learners and benefit from seeing an addition equation. Using manipulatives to introduce addition will help build a child’s confidence and help them to express their mathematical thinking process clearly.
Helping students generalize skills can be difficult, but students must be able to generalize to master a concept fully and understand how to use it in real life. Using books is an enjoyable way to help learners understand addition. We have curated a list of 20 books that will help to promote a learner’s understanding of addition.
1. Anno's Counting House by Mitsumasa Anno
This idealistic story focuses on ten children leaving one house and moving into another. Mitsumasa Anno’s book is wordless, but she uses excellent illustrations to keep any reader captivated. This book is ideal for addition because learners can use the pictures of people in the first house to figure out how many are in the other house. This book is perfect for teaching addends.
2. Quack and Count by Keith Baker
In his book Quack and Count, Keith Baker immerses his readers in the story. The story focuses on a family of seven energetic ducklings. Baker teaches his readers different ways to make seven using addition. The book is colorful and engaging.
3. Ten Flashing Fireflies by Philemon Sturges
Ten Flashing Fireflies is a magical picture book by Philemon Sturges. The author associates both counting to ten and making combinations of numbers to add up to ten. Children love counting and adding fireflies. This book also allows for building on self-to-text connections while remembering when they caught fireflies.
4. Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss
Children love the silly rhymes and illustrations that accompany a Dr. Seuss book. This is the perfect seasonal apple book that works on counting and teaching addition. Learners can even use actual apples to practice adding to ten. I love using this book in September to work on both addition and counting and connect counting to real-world activities.
5. Jack the Builder by Stuart J. Murphy (MathStart 1)
Stuart J. Murphy is well known for his MathStart series. His books focus on many different mathematical concepts. In the story Jack the Builder, readers will work with Jack to build and use addition to help create his structures. Murphy has a knack for simplifying addition and making it fun for his readers.
6. Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
This timeless book is a personal favorite of mine and my students. The book is about a hat peddler who takes a nap under a tree when a band of mischievous monkeys steals his hats. Slobodkina uses rhyme to keep early readers entertained and interested. Learners can practice classifying the different hats by colors and adding them together.
7. Roosters Off to See the World by Eric Carle
Eric Carle is a legend in the children’s book arena. His books have captivated the minds of many children over the decades, and this book is no different. This story tells the tale of an ambitious rooster who sets out to see the world but doesn’t prepare for his adventure. Along the way, Rooster meets other animals. When Rooster meets the different animals throughout the story, we as educators have the perfect opportunity to pause for a moment and practice adding with our students.
8. 12 Ways to Get to 11 by Eve Merriam
Eve Merriam does a good job teaching addition combinations to eleven with her story 12 Ways to Get to 11. Her tale keeps readers engaged while practicing addition facts. Readers get the chance to count and add the different objects on the pages to formulate a sum.
9. Mission Addition by Loreen Leedy
Loreen Leedy’s book Mission Addition introduces readers to addition in real-life situations. Children love playing detective, and teachers love that Leedy uses great math vocabulary throughout her story.
10. Ten for Me by Barbara Mariconda
In this story, the characters are racing to catch butterflies while the author seamlessly ties addition into the plot. Mariconda wrote the story in rhymes that effortlessly engage her readers. Throughout the tale, students will have the opportunity to add butterflies to make ten.
11. If You Were a Plus Sign by Trisha Sue Speed Shaskan
Understanding the purpose of the “plus” sign is needed for students to learn about addition. Trisha Sue Speed Shaskan does a great job teaching her readers the purpose of the “plus” sign through entertaining scenarios. The illustrator, Francesca Carabelli, uses her art well throughout the story to model the concept of addition.
12. Splash by Ann Jonas
Let’s make a Splash with Ann Jonas while practicing addition! This book offers its readers bright colors and an interesting bunch of silly animals falling in and coming out of a pond. This fun tale can be used for both teaching addition and subtraction.
13. One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab by April Pulley Sayre and Jeff Sayre
This book covers a few different math concepts. The author integrates the plot with opportunities for educators to teach multiplication, skip counting, and addition. This book is an excellent resource for math instruction to meet the specialized needs of each individual student.
14. Animals on Board by Stuart J. Murphy
Animals on Board is the second book by Stuart J. Murphy that made it to our list. This book is straightforward and entertaining. Mr. Murphy demonstrates addition equations to ten and how the communitive property works using a child-centered tale.
15. Domino Addition by Lynette Long
Domino Addition by Lynette Long is the perfect book to reinforce addition facts. Students can use actual dominos along with the story to practice counting and adding. Long’s book offers bold colors and extensive illustrations. Students love using manipulatives to practice addition.
16. The Hershey’s Kisses Addition Book by Jerry Pallotta
Who doesn’t love an addition book that involves chocolate manipulatives? This book teaches students to add and offers the opportunity to reinforce learners’ work with chocolate—a win-win for both student and teacher.
17. Arithmechicks Add Up: A Math Story by Ann Marie Stephens
In her book Arithmechicks Add Up, Ann Marie Stephens does a great job immersing young learners in her addition-focused story. The plot revolves around ten chicks and one tiny mouse who are trying to get to their basketball. I love how Ms. Stephens seamlessly incorporates different addition strategies into her book. This heartwarming story focuses on friendship and addition.
18. Double Play: Monkeying Around with Addition by Betsy Franco
This read focuses on teaching learners how to add using the important math concept of doubling. The book starts with doubling one to make two and progresses in number order. Betsy Franco does a good job introducing learners to how to add a number to itself.
19. Pigeon Math by Asia Citro
Students will love the goofy pigeons that illustrator Richard Watson created. The author Asia Citro does a fine job introducing addition and subtraction in a silly, kid-friendly way. It shows addition in relatable situations and encourages children to create their addition equations.
20. Teddy Bear Addition by Barbara Barbieri McGrath
This book incorporates a fun rhyme scheme that hooks early learners into the story. It encourages its readers to use their counting bears throughout. Teddy Bear Addition is great for hands-on tactile learning that will help facilitate the concept of addition.
This resource was created as a supplement for the Language Builder: ARIS complete early autism curriculum, Lesson #182, Adding Using Counter Objects. Download a free copy of the lesson and learn more about ARIS here.
