Year 1 subtraction worksheets

Parent and teacher guide

Subtraction in Year 1 should be taught as more than taking away. Students also need to see subtraction as finding a missing part. Use counters, ten frames and part-part-whole diagrams before moving to number sentences. A common mistake is subtracting the smaller digit from the bigger digit without understanding the story. Ask students to say what the whole is, what part is known and what part is missing. Counting back works for small numbers, but drawing or counting on can be clearer for missing-part problems.

Free resources for this topic

Australian Curriculum alignment

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Common mistakes to watch for

Ask the student to explain their method before moving to a test. If they can only guess, return to one visual model and one worked example. Short practice with feedback usually works better than a long worksheet completed without review.

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