Subtraction Stories Within 5

Kindergarten · mathematics · 103 practice problems · read aloud

🔊 Listen to this explanation

Subtraction Stories Within 5

🧩 What is Subtraction?

Subtraction means taking away or finding out how many are left. We use it all the time! If you have 3 cookies and you eat 1, you have 2 left. That's subtraction! It helps us know how much is left after something is taken away.

📝 How to Solve a Subtraction Story

  1. Listen to the story. What do you start with?
  2. Find out what is taken away. What gets eaten, given away, or flies off?
  3. Count what is left. The number you have left is your answer!

🔍 Let's Look at Some Examples

Example 1: Maria had 4 balloons. 🎈🎈🎈🎈 Then, 2 balloons flew away. 🎈🎈

Step 1: Start with 4.
Step 2: Take away 2.
Step 3: Count what's left: 2.
So, 4 - 2 = 2.

Example 2: Sam had 5 toy cars. 🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗 He gave 1 car to his friend.

Step 1: Start with 5.
Step 2: Take away 1.
Step 3: Count what's left: 4.
So, 5 - 1 = 4.

⚠️ Watch Out for These Mistakes!

Mixing up the numbers: Sometimes kids subtract the starting number from the number they are taking away. Remember, you always start with the bigger number first!

Forgetting to count what's left: Make sure you count the objects that remain, not the ones that were taken away.

💡 Tips & Tricks

  • Use your fingers! Put up fingers for your starting number. Put down the number you are taking away. See how many are still up!
  • Draw a picture. If the story says "3 apples," draw 3 apples. Cross out the ones that are taken away.
  • Remember the "Left" Song: "Start with the whole, take some away, count what's left at the end of the day!"

🎯 How to Practice

You can get great at subtraction by playing and practicing!

  • Use small toys, blocks, or cereal pieces to act out stories.
  • Ask a grown-up to tell you simple "taking away" stories during the day.
  • Play online math games for kindergarten that focus on subtraction within 5.

Practice problems

6 of the 103, worked through step by step — try them before opening the answer.

1 15 - 7 = ?

Hint: Start with the first number and count backwards the second number.

Show the answer

Answer: 8

  1. Start with the number 15.
  2. We need to subtract 7 from 15. Think of 15 as 10 + 5.
  3. First, subtract 5 from 15: 15 - 5 = 10. Now, we have subtracted 5 of the 7 we need to subtract.
  4. We still need to subtract 2 more because 7 = 5 + 2. So, from 10, subtract 2: 10 - 2 = 8.
  5. Therefore, 15 - 7 = 8. Final answer: 8

We are solving: 15 - 7 = ?

2 12 - 7 = ?

Hint: Think about taking away a smaller number from a larger one. You can count backwards or use objects to help.

Show the answer

Answer: 5

  1. Start with the number 12.
  2. We need to subtract 7 from 12. Think of this as taking away 7 items from 12 items.
  3. One way to do this is to break 7 into two parts to make subtraction easier. We can break 7 into 2 and 5 because 2 + 5 = 7.
  4. First subtract 2 from 12: 12 - 2 = 10.
  5. Now subtract the remaining 5 from 10: 10 - 5 = 5.
  6. So, 12 - 7 = 5. Answer: 5

We are solving: 12 - 7 = ?

3 12 - 5 = ?

Hint: Start with the first number and count backwards the number of times shown by the second number.

Show the answer

Answer: 7

  1. Understand the operation. We are subtracting 5 from 12. Subtraction means we take away a certain number from the starting number.
  2. Begin with the number 12. We can think of 12 as 10 + 2.
  3. Subtract 5 from 12. One way to do this is to break 5 into parts that are easier to subtract from 12. Since 12 = 10 + 2, we can subtract 5 by first subtracting 2 from 12: 12 - 2 = 10.
  4. Now we still need to subtract the remaining part of 5. We already subtracted 2, so we have 5 - 2 = 3 left to subtract. So subtract 3 from 10: 10 - 3 = 7.
  5. Conclusion. Therefore, 12 - 5 = 7. We can check: 5 + 7 = 12, which matches,

We start with the problem: 12 - 5 = ? so the answer is correct. ANSWER: 7

4 15 - 8 = ?

Hint: Think about taking away a smaller number from a larger one

Show the answer

Answer: 7

  1. Start with 15
  2. Subtract 8 from 15
  3. 15 - 8 = 7

The answer is 7.

5 18 - 9 = ?

Hint: Think about taking away a number from a larger number

Show the answer

Answer: 9

  1. Start with 18
  2. Subtract 9 from 18
  3. 18 - 9 = 9

The answer is 9.

6 14 - 6 = ?

Hint: Count backwards from the first number to find the difference.

Show the answer

Answer: 8

  1. Start with 14
  2. Subtract 6 by counting backwards: 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8
  3. 14 - 6 = 8

The answer is 8.

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