2nd Grade Dot Model Addition Sentences Worksheet: Match Each Model

Show a seven-year-old two boxes of dots and many will count every dot from one, even when the first box clearly holds three. This 2nd grade dot model addition sentences worksheet asks for something quicker: see each part, then see the whole. On the left, six models line up, each one a small box of dots, a plus sign, a second box and the total. On the right, six addition sentences wait in blue frames, from 1 + 2 = 3 to 5 + 5 = 10. Your child draws a line from each model to the sentence it describes. The sums up to 10 keep the arithmetic light, so attention goes to reading the model. A second page gives the answer key.

Why a part, a part and a whole matter

Every model on the page tells a small story: one part, another part, and the whole they make together. Teachers call this a part-part-whole picture, and it is the backbone of addition and, later, subtraction.

Writing an addition sentence means turning that picture into symbols. The page does half the work, so your child only needs to read it. For example, the fourth model shows one dot, then six dots, then seven. Spotting 1 + 6 = 7 in the list finishes the job.

The dots also sit in neat rows of two, three or five. So a child who knows that two rows of three make six can stop counting one by one. That shortcut is real number sense. Small, but important.

At the table: the orange and pink models

Begin with the first model. Ask, "How many in each box?" One and two make three, and the line almost draws itself.

The tricky pair sits lower down. The orange model and the pink model look alike, with two rows of dots in each box. However, the orange one holds five and five, while the pink one starts with only four. A quick child may link the pink model to 5 + 5 = 10. Instead of correcting, point to the first pink box and say, "Touch each dot and count."

Also watch the last model, where three dots sit as two above one. Ask, "Does the shape change the number?" Then let your child decide. Each line starts at the small grey dot on the right edge of a model.

Egg cartons, grapes and a Memory game

Part-part-whole pictures are all over the house. Open an egg carton with a few eggs on each side and ask how many there are here, there and in all. At snack time, split ten grapes into two bowls and say the addition sentence together.

Also try a homemade Memory game. Draw dot models on some cards and the matching sums on others, then turn them face down. Your child flips two at a time and keeps a pair only when the model and the sentence match.

Finally, once you finish the page, check each line with the answer key. Praise the looking, not the speed: "You checked both boxes before you drew. That is careful reading."