Subtraction helps us find how many are left when some are taken away. Early learners practice subtraction facts to 10 so they can solve small number problems quickly and confidently. These facts are useful for counting objects, sharing snacks, playing games, and checking answers in math.
A subtraction fact like 10 - 3 = 7 tells a simple take-away story.
Understanding Early Learners: Subtraction Facts to 10
Young children often understand subtraction best when they can see it happen. Begin with a small group of counters, blocks, buttons, or drawings. Cover or move some objects away, then count the objects that remain.
This builds the meaning before children are asked to remember a fact. Fingers can help too.
Hold up a number of fingers, fold down a few, then count the fingers still showing. Real objects make an invisible number change easier to notice.
A number line gives another useful picture. Each step backward means one less. When a child starts at nine and moves back three spaces, the landing place is six.
It is important to make separate jumps rather than one large guess. Children can tap each space while saying the numbers aloud.
This connects counting backward with subtraction. Later, they may stop needing to draw every jump because the pattern becomes familiar.
Some facts are easier to learn by noticing families and patterns. Facts with zero tell children that nothing has changed. Facts where the same amount is removed leave none.
Near doubles can be useful as well. If a child knows that six split into three and three makes two equal groups, they can understand that removing three from six leaves three. Making ten is another strong pattern.
Knowing pairs that join to make ten helps children work out related subtraction facts from memory. For example, if seven needs three to reach ten, taking three away from ten leaves seven.
Children sometimes make mistakes because they count the starting number as the first step back. For a problem beginning at eight with two removed, saying eight, seven, six treats the start carefully only if eight is not counted as a jump. A helpful routine is to point to the starting number, then make one movement for each object removed.
Another common difficulty is mixing up the order of the numbers. The starting amount needs to be large enough when working with whole objects, because a child cannot remove more toys than are present.
Ask children to explain their method with objects, fingers, drawings, or a number line. An explanation shows whether they understand the change, rather than only remembering an answer.
Key Facts
- Subtraction means taking away: 8 - 3 = 5.
- The first number tells the starting amount: in 9 - 4 = 5, 9 is the starting amount.
- Count back to subtract: for 7 - 2, say 7, 6, 5, so 7 - 2 = 5.
- Subtracting 0 does not change the number: 6 - 0 = 6.
- Subtracting a number from itself gives 0: 5 - 5 = 0.
- Subtraction and addition are connected: 10 - 4 = 6 because 6 + 4 = 10.
Vocabulary
- Subtraction
- Subtraction is taking away part of a group to find how many are left.
- Minus sign
- The minus sign is the symbol - that tells you to subtract.
- Difference
- The difference is the answer to a subtraction problem.
- Count back
- Count back means starting at a number and counting down to subtract.
- Fact family
- A fact family is a group of related addition and subtraction facts using the same numbers.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Counting the starting number as one step, because in 6 - 2 you should count back two moves from 6: 5, 4.
- Subtracting in the wrong order, because 3 - 8 is not the same as 8 - 3 when learning facts within 10.
- Forgetting that subtracting 0 changes nothing, because 9 - 0 still means no objects were taken away.
- Not checking with addition, because 10 - 6 = 4 can be checked by seeing that 4 + 6 = 10.
Practice Questions
- 1 There are 10 apples. 4 apples are taken away. How many apples are left?
- 2 Solve these subtraction facts: 7 - 3, 9 - 5, and 6 - 6.
- 3 Maya knows that 3 + 5 = 8. Explain how she can use that addition fact to solve 8 - 5.