Addition word problems – sums up to 18

key notes :

➕ Addition means “putting together” or “joining” things.

👉 Example: 6 apples 🍎 + 5 apples 🍎 = 11 apples 🍎

💡 A word problem tells a small story where you need to find the total.

👉 Example: Rani has 8 balloons 🎈. Her friend gives her 7 more 🎈.
🟰 Total = 8 + 7 = 15 balloons 🎈

🧮 Sums up to 18 means the answer (total) will be 18 or less.

✅ Example: 9 + 8 = 17
✅ Example: 10 + 6 = 16

🎯 Clue words in word problems help you know it’s addition:

“in all”

“altogether”

“total”

“both”

“together”
🩵 Example: There are 5 cats 🐱 and 6 dogs 🐶.
How many animals in all?
5 + 6 = 11 animals 🐾

🧩 Steps to solve addition word problems:

1️⃣ Read the question carefully 👀
2️⃣ Find the numbers to be added 🔢
3️⃣ Look for addition clue words ✨
4️⃣ Add the numbers together ➕
5️⃣ Write the answer with a label 🏷️

💬 Use objects or drawings to help add:

👉 Count with fingers ✋🤚
👉 Use blocks 🧱 or counters ⚪
👉 Draw circles 🔵 to show each group

🌈 Example Problems:

🍭 Raju has 7 candies. His friend gives him 9 more.
🟰 7 + 9 = 16 candies 🍬

🐠 There are 8 fish in one tank and 6 in another.
🟰 8 + 6 = 14 fish 🐟

💪 Practice makes you faster!

Try adding different pairs of numbers that make 18 or less:
🎲 9 + 9 = 18
🎲 10 + 7 = 17
🎲 8 + 5 = 13

🧡 Remember:

Addition makes numbers bigger 🆙

Always check your answer by counting again 🔁

✨ Fun Tip:

Use colored counters 🟢🔵🔴 or stickers 🌟 to make addition fun and easy!

Learn with an example

👁️ A biscuit jar is sitting on a high shelf. Steve stands on a pile of 5 sofa pillows and 2 bed pillows to reach it. How many pillows does Steve use to reach the biscuit jar?

​ ______pillows

  • Add the number of sofa pillows and the number of bed pillows.
  • Add:
5 + 2
  • You can count up to add. Start from 5 and count up 2:
  • 5, 6, 7
5 + 2
7
  • The sum is 7. Steve uses 7 pillows.

👁️Ted helped his father bake biscuits. They baked 9 sugar biscuits and 8 chocolate chip biscuits. How many biscuits did they bake in all?

​ _______biscuits

  • Add the numbers of biscuits.
  • Add:
9 + 8
  • You can count up to add. Start from 9 and count up 8:
  • 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
9 + 8
17
  • The sum is 17. The baked 17 biscuits in all.

👁️ Jim goes on holiday to the Maldives. He sends 5 postcards to friends and 3 postcards to family members. How many postcards does he send in all?

​
______postcards

  • Add the numbers of postcards.
  • Add:
5 + 3
  • You can count up to add. Start from 5 and count up 3:
  • 5, 6, 7, 8
5 + 3
8
  • The sum is 8. In all, Jim sends 8 postcards.

Let’s practice!