Subtraction
Subtraction practice in six steps, from 3 − 1 to 63 − 57: taking away, counting back and counting up, always alongside addition, up to 100.
- Subtraction to 5Subtraction to 5 practice, from 3 − 1 to 3 − 3 = 0: minus 1 first, then filling in the gap, then mixed rounds, including taking everything or nothing away.
- Subtraction to 10Subtraction to 10 practice, from 9 − 1 to 10 − 2 = 8: two numbers first, then three or four numbers and balance sums, then plus and minus mixed.
- Subtraction to 20Subtraction to 20 practice, from 19 − 2 to 12 − 7 = 5: first without crossing ten, then back across ten, then three or four numbers, plus and minus mixed.
- Subtraction to 30Subtraction to 30 practice, from 29 − 6 to 23 − 9 = 14: back across 20 as well as 10, then three or four numbers, balance sums and plus and minus mixed.
- Subtraction to 50Subtraction to 50 practice, from 46 − 2 to 50 − 31 = 19: across every ten up to 50, then three or four numbers, balance sums and plus and minus mixed.
- Subtraction to 100Subtraction to 100 practice, from 87 − 7 to 63 − 57 = 6: a single digit first, then one 2-digit number from another, back across ten, and from 100 up.
How it fits together
The arrows point to what can be done next. Whatever sits inside a box belongs to it.
first this, then that belongs to
Why it matters
Subtraction is harder than addition, and that is no accident. In addition everything grows; in subtraction your child has to go back, and counting backwards comes less naturally than counting forwards. A child who learns subtraction only as ‘taking away’ gets stuck on a sum like 31 − 28, where taking away takes many steps.
That is why subtraction here always sits alongside addition. There are sums with plus and minus mixed, and missing-number sums in which your child sees that 9 − 4 = 5 and 4 + 5 = 9 tell the same story. Together, those two sides make fractions, decimals and mental maths up to 100 a lot easier later on.
How to approach it
There are two ways to subtract, and your child needs both. Counting back works well when only a little is taken away: 14 − 2 is two small steps back. Counting up works better when the numbers are close together: for 31 − 28 you count up from 28 to 31, and that is only 3.
Let your child choose for each sum rather than always doing the same thing. Now and then ask out loud: ‘is it far away or close?’ After a while your child asks that question themselves, and that is exactly the habit they will need later with big numbers.