A kindergarten teacher is working with a small group of students on adding single digit numbers. She shows students the problem 3 + 5, then counts out and attaches a set of three unifix cubes and a set of five unifix cubes. She then joins the sets of unifix cubes together, counts the total of eight unifix cubes, and writes 3 + 5 = 8. Next, she gives each student in the group a set of unifix cubes and writes the problem 4 + 2. The teacher models how to count and attach a set of four cubes and a set of two cubes, join the two sets together, and count to find the total of six. While she models this, students do the same with their unifix cubes. Finally, the teacher writes 3 + 4 and has students count and attach their cubes independently while she observes them.Based on this description, what strategy is the teacher using?