Subtraction within 10

Free sample questions, a clear explanation, and 5 practice skills with an AI tutor that guides without giving the answer away.

Let's Be Subtraction Superheroes! 🦸‍♀️🦸‍♂️

Hi, Math Explorer! Have you ever had a bunch of yummy snacks, like apple slices, and then eaten some? When you count how many are left, you're doing subtraction! Subtraction is like a "take away" game.

Imagine you have 5 juicy apple slices. 🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎 You are hungry and eat 2 of them. Munch, munch! How many are left? You have 3 left! That's subtraction in action!

From Pictures to Number Sentences

We can be math artists and tell this story with pictures and a special code called a number sentence.

1. Draw the Whole Group

🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓

6 strawberries

2. Cross Out to Take Away

🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓

Take away 2

3. Write the Code!

6 - 2 = 4

✨ Key Takeaway! ✨

The minus sign - means "take away." The equals sign = tells us what is left. We start with the whole number, take away a part, and are left with the other part!

A Super Sleuth Mission!

Ready for a puzzle? Let's use our subtraction powers to figure out something different. Imagine you have 7 cool pencils, but you really want to have a full set of 10. How many more pencils do you need?

We can think of this as a subtraction puzzle: 10 - 7 = ?
Let's draw it! Make 10 empty boxes for the pencils you want. Now, color in the 7 you already have.
How many boxes are empty? That's right, 3!
You need 3 more pencils to get to 10! Mission complete, Super Sleuth!

Sample questions

1. You have 5 yummy apples. You eat 2 apples. How many apples are left?

✓ 3

○ 2

○ 7

○ 5

Answer: 3 — Imagine 5 apples. Take 2 away. Count what is left.

2. There are 7 colorful birds on a branch. 3 birds fly away. How many birds are still on the branch?

○ 3

✓ 4

○ 10

○ 7

Answer: 4 — Start with 7 birds. Count back 3 birds that flew away.

3. You have 9 toy cars. You give 4 cars to your friend. How many toy cars do you have now?

○ 4

○ 13

○ 9

✓ 5

Answer: 5 — Picture 9 cars. If 4 leave, how many stay?

Skills in this topic

Take away objects from a group (up to 10) to find the remainder (concrete).
Represent taking away pictorially and write subtraction sentences within 10.
Use number bonds to solve subtraction problems within 10.
Solve subtraction word problems within 10 using drawings or simple bar models.
Explain how to figure out how many more pencils you need if you have 7 and want to have 10.

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