Doubles plus one equals what?!?

After attending a great math conference in Chicago last week, I couldn't wait to come back and try out all the new strategies I had learned.  I'm happy to say that just in the short time I've had this week, I'm already seeing some positive changes and more "lights" are turning on!  Today we continued to work on doubles (2+2=4, 4+4=8, etc) and how we can find a double (new strategy) in an addition problem in order to help us add the numbers together.  For instance, we can look at 5+6 as 5+5+1 -- finding the double and adding one more.  We can look at 5+7 as 5+5+2 -- finding the double and adding two more.  It all sounds as simple as can be, doesn't it!?  Well, try to get 26 first graders to catch on and you've got yourself a challenge!  We made doubles flip books today to help students remember their doubles facts -- they practiced and quizzed each other afterward.  They are learning more and more that math is not just about numbers -- it's about patterns -- taking things apart and putting things together.  I never looked at math that way when I was first learning -- I certainly wish I would have -- it would have been way more fun!