🌱 Kindergarten · Free printable

Subtraction Within 10 Worksheets

Subtraction within 10 builds on take-away with bigger starting numbers, up to 10. Children solve these with objects, drawings, fingers or a number line.

This is a good time to show a second strategy: counting up. To find 10 − 7, start at 7 and count up to 10. When the two numbers are close together, counting up is much easier than counting back.

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Sample problems

  1. 5 − 2 = _____
  2. 5 − 4 = _____
  3. 6 − 2 = _____
  4. 8 − 2 = _____
  5. 10 − 5 = _____
  6. 10 − 9 = _____
  7. 3 − 3 = _____
  8. 5 − 1 = _____

Worked example

10 − 7

  1. The numbers are close, so count up from 7 to 10.
  2. Say the numbers after 7, putting up a finger for each: 8, 9, 10.
  3. You put up 3 fingers.
  4. So 10 − 7 = 3.

Common mistakes

  • Including the starting number when counting back. For 9 − 3, a child may say "9, 8, 7" and answer 7. The first count back is one less than 9: 8, 7, 6, so the answer is 6.
  • Always counting back from the big number, even for problems like 10 − 8. Counting back 8 steps is slow and easy to get wrong; counting up 2 steps is not.

Tips for practicing at home

  • Draw a number line from 0 to 10 with chalk and hop backwards to subtract.
  • Use a ten-frame (or egg carton) and remove counters.
  • Connect to the make-10 pairs: if 7 + 3 = 10, then 10 − 7 = 3.

Common Core standards

K.OA.A.2
Solve addition and subtraction word problems, and add and subtract within 10.

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