Subtraction with pictures helps young students see what happens when some objects are taken away from a group. This cheat sheet gives K-1 students a simple reference for subtraction facts from 1 to 10. It is useful because pictures make subtraction feel concrete before students work only with numbers.
Students can point, cross out, count, and say the number sentence aloud.
Key Facts
- Subtraction means taking away from a starting number to find how many are left.
- In 5 - 2 = 3, the number 5 is the starting number, 2 is taken away, and 3 is left.
- The minus sign, -, means take away, subtract, or find the difference.
- The equal sign, =, means both sides show the same amount.
- To subtract with pictures, count all the objects, cross out the objects taken away, then count what is left.
- A subtraction sentence has this pattern: whole - part = part left.
- Subtraction facts from 1 to 10 use starting numbers no greater than 10.
- Addition can check subtraction because 7 - 3 = 4 and 4 + 3 = 7 are related facts.
Vocabulary
- Subtraction
- Subtraction is taking away from a group to find how many are left.
- Minus sign
- The minus sign, -, tells you to take away or subtract.
- Equal sign
- The equal sign, =, shows that two amounts are the same.
- Whole
- The whole is the total number of objects before any are taken away.
- Part
- A part is one smaller group that belongs to the whole group.
- Difference
- The difference is the answer to a subtraction problem.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Counting the crossed-out pictures as the answer is wrong because the answer is the number left, not the number taken away.
- Starting with the smaller number is wrong in take away problems because you must begin with the whole group, such as 8 in 8 - 3.
- Forgetting to cross out objects can lead to guessing, so mark or cover the objects taken away before counting what remains.
- Mixing up + and - is wrong because + means put together, while - means take away.
- Writing the answer before counting what is left can be wrong because the picture should match the subtraction sentence.
Practice Questions
- 1 There are 6 apples. Cross out 2 apples. How many apples are left? Write the subtraction sentence.
- 2 There are 9 stars. Take away 4 stars. How many stars are left?
- 3 Solve with a picture: 10 - 3 = ?
- 4 Mia says 7 - 2 means you should count the 2 objects crossed out as the answer. Is Mia correct? Explain what the answer should show.