Print a addition color by number sheet
Pick a picture
Picture collection
Two pages: the worksheet, then the answer key.
Teaching a class? Give every student short daily practice, free
A printed sheet is one round of practice. A free Math Builders class adds short daily fact practice beside it, and it supplements your math curriculum rather than replacing it.
- One free class, with no student limit.
- Students tap their name at a class link. No student email addresses.
- Practice takes 2 to 5 minutes at a time, alongside your curriculum.
- Printable home cards for families, from the class workflow.
Which addition sheet fits which grade
Addition fluency is the first fluency target in elementary school, so both fact sets sit at the start of the grade range.
Kindergarten into Grade 1
Sums to 10 include the doubles 2 + 2, 4 + 4 and 5 + 5 and near-doubles like 3 + 4 and 4 + 5. Fingers are welcome here; the goal at this age is a fast, accurate answer by any honest route.
Grade 1 into Grade 2
Sums to 20 cross a ten, which is the step that slows children down. Second grade standards expect these sums from memory by the end of the year, so this is the sheet to print for a group still counting up.
How long an addition sheet takes
Allow 15 to 25 minutes for a first grader, and expect it to run longer than the math deserves. Young children color slowly, and each region is small. If you only want the facts, ask for half the picture and check it against the key.
Sums to 10 usually finish in one sitting. Sums to 20 go better split in two: facts and coloring one day, the answer key check the next morning.
Using the sheet as an addition center or early-finisher task
Print the same picture at both levels. A child who is solid on sums to 10 takes the sums to 20 version of the sailboat, and a child still counting takes the sums to 10 version. At the end of the center both boats are blue and red, and nobody is holding a sheet marked easier.
An early finisher can trade pictures with a partner and check them against the key. Checking a partner's sums is a second pass over the same facts, which is where many young children first notice a mistake.
Doubles, make ten, and the colors that repeat
Addition has a feature no other operation has: small sums run out of distinct answers. 12 addition facts to 10 cannot all have a different answer, so a few regions share a color on purpose, and the color key lists every answer a crayon accepts.
For sums to 20, teach make-ten before the sheet. For 8 + 5, move two from the 5 to make 10, then add the 3 that is left. A child who does this out loud while coloring is doing exactly what the sheet is for.
More color by number worksheets by operation
Frequently Asked Questions
Sums to 10 suit kindergarten and first grade. Sums to 20 suit first and second grade. A third grader who is rebuilding confidence can use either.
Small sums have few different answers, so the sheet gives two answers to a crayon in some places. The color key names every answer each crayon accepts, so there is only one right color for any sum.
Yes. Every swatch carries a letter code, so a child can write the letter in each region if the class has no crayons.
Yes. The answer key prints on its own page after the worksheet. There is no signup.
Yes. The picture picker above the sheet offers 24 pictures, and the worksheet and answer key regenerate on whichever you choose.