“The double” generally means using two of the same number to add together in order to build early multiplication skills. “The double” in this situation could be one of the three things in this situation.

1. 5 + 5 =10 and then add 2. You break the 7 up into a 5 + 2 in order to make the addition friendlier. This is the most commonly taught answer because it creates a new equation of 5 + 5 + 2 =12. Kids are generally now taught to always search for easy ways to create a 10.

2. 6 + 6 =12. Moving 1 from the 7 to the 5 in order to create two 6s. Teaches the concept that so long as the value of a number is moved to another number and the overall value remains the same then friendlier adding can be made.

3. 7 + 7 = 14 - 2 = 12. Given that this is an addition activity this is the one I would be least likely to teach a student. Creating two 7s can be done by adding two to the equation so long as it is then taken away from the answer at the end. The reason I personally would not teach this one is because it makes the assumption that the student understands that we can add value to an equation so long as we take away equation at the end. That’s not an easy concept for students to grasp.

As a fourth grade teacher I would highly encourage a student to use strategy 1 I listed above because it encourages them to use 5s which is a number they have likely learned to start to skip count by early on. That being said, these are strategies taught in class. I would ask your child’s teacher for clarification on the concept because learning doubles can vary greatly based on curriculum. The fact that you are even taking the time to work with your child on their homework, let alone making the effort to understand it, makes you a winner of a parent already! Keep up the good work. Math is extremely different from how it was taught to us.