Understand subtraction as ‘take away’ and find a ‘difference’ by counting up; use practical and

informal written methods to support the subtraction of a one-digit number from a one-digit or two-
digit number and a multiple of 10 from a two-digit number
(Objective repeated in Block A Units 1, 2 & 3, Block B Unit 3 and Block D Units 2 & 3)
• Count six objects into a bag.

Q How many are there in the bag? How many will there be if I take one out? And if I take another one out?
Write 6 – 2 = 4 on the board. Say that there were six in the bag, you took two out and there were four left. Read the number sentence;

‘six take away two equals four’

Show the four left in the bag.

• Empty the bag and this time count in ten objects.

Q How many will there be if I take one away? What if I take two away?
• Record the corresponding number sentences.

• Use the ITP, ‘Number facts’ to show 10 – 1, 10 – 2, 10 – 3, (by selecting the subtraction option and dragging the appropriate number into the
bin) and the corresponding number sentences. Repeat for 8 – 1, 8 – 2, 8 – 3.

Talk through Activity sheet Y1 22 and ask the children to complete the questions and then to make up their own questions and answer them. They
can cross out the beads if it helps.
• Remind the children of the story of Snow White.

Q Snow White has to lay the table for dinner for herself and the seven dwarves. How many plates will she need? How many bowls? How
many knives? How many forks? How many spoons?
Establish that she will need 8 of each, one for each of the dwarves and one of each for herself.

• Say that you are going to help Snow White by counting for her. Show the children a box (containing 8 plates, 4 knives, 8 forks, 6 bowls, 3
spoons). Ask for a volunteer to count out 8 plates. Ask for another child to count out the forks and lay them in a line. Ask the same child to count
out the knives and lay them in a line above the forks.

Q How many forks are there? How many knives are there? Have we got enough knives? Oh dear, Snow White needs some more, what is
the difference between 8 and 4? How many more knives do we need?
• Match up the knives and forks and count on from the 4th knife to establish that we need 4 more knives to match the number of forks.

Say that you could write this as a number sentence. Write on the board 8 – 4 = 4, saying 8 subtract 4 is 4 or the difference between 8 and 4 is 4, or
4+8 = ‫ٱ‬.
Send a child to collect 4 more knives from the role play area.

• Repeat this process for bowls and spoons.

Q How many bowls are there? How many spoons are there? How many more spoons do we need? What is the difference between 8 and
3?
Record as a number sentence on board and send another child to collect the extra spoons or bowls.

Say that you have been finding the difference between sets of objects and that the children are now going to do that with a partner. Give each pair
two numbered dice and about 20 cubes each. Ask them to take turns to each roll the two dice and to make matching towers of cubes and then to
find the difference between their two towers. Demonstrate the activity by lining the two towers up and breaking off the cubes from the top of the
taller tower until it is the same height as the shorter tower. Say ‘The difference between 6 and 3 is 3’. As you visit each pair encourage them to
say the number sentence using words ‘the difference between’. When the children are confident ask them to record the subtraction sentences.

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• Give all children a coloured shape
• Ask all blue squares to stand up

Q How many blue squares are there?

• Count blue squares and record number on board

• Ask all yellow rectangles to stand up

Q How many yellow rectangles are there?

• Count and record on board

Q How many more blue squares are there?

• Record answer on board, e.g. 6 3 3

Q Can we put these numbers into a number sentence?

• Children record on whiteboards

6–3=3

• Draw 0 – 6 number line on board

• Point to 6 and explain this is how many blue squares there are
• Point to 3 and explain this is how many yellow rectangles there are

Q What is the difference between the number of blue squares and yellow rectangles?

• Children discuss in pairs

• Show on number line the difference is 3, because you count on 3 to reach 6, so there are 3 more blue squares than yellow rectangles
• Repeat this using red triangles and green circles to find the difference.
• Children find the difference between given numbers using a number line to count on
• Using large 1 – 9 digit cards ask children to pick a number between 1 and 5, e.g. 2

Q Can you pick two digit cards that have a difference of 2?

• Children pick from own set of digit cards two numbers with a difference of 2 and show
• Collect various responses by children coming to front and holding up large digit cards, e.g. 1 and 3, 2 and 4, 3 and 5, 4 and 6, etc

Q Have we got all the possible pairs? How do we know?

• Model how to record systematically to show all possible pairs with a difference of 2
• Repeat with another difference, e.g. 4, and collect responses, recording systematically
• Children use own digit cards to find pairs of numbers with differences of 1, 3, 5, 6 depending on ability

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• Show OHT Y1 23 of a bus. Put 7 counters on the bus to represent people.

Q How many people are on

the bus?
Ask children to hold up that number of fingers.

• Say that 2 people want to get off the bus at the next bus stop.

Q How many people will be left on

the bus?
Encourage children to use their fingers to find out by holding up 7 fingers and bending down (taking away) 2 of their fingers. Model how to do
this by saying, ‘7 take way 1 is 6’ (as you bend down 1 finger) ‘take away 2 is 5’ (as you bend down the second finger).

• On the OHT repeat the process, taking 1 counter away at a time and saying, ‘7 take away 1 is 6, take away 2 is 5’.

Write on the board: 7 take away 2 is 5.

Invite a child to come and write the number sentence on the board using the symbols – and = i.e.
7 – 2 = 5.

• Put 10 counters on the bus.

Q How many counters on

the bus?
Ask children to hold up that number of fingers.

Say that 4 people want to get off the bus at the next bus stop.

Q There are 10 people on the bus but 4 people want to get off. How many people will be left on
the bus?
Encourage children to use their fingers to find out by bending down (taking away) 4 of their fingers. Model how to do this by saying, ‘10 take
way 1 is 9 (as you bend down 1 finger) take away 2 is 8 (as you bend down the second finger) take away 3 is 7, take away 4 is 6’.

On the OHT repeat the process, taking 1 counter away at a time and saying, ‘10 take away 1 is 9, take away 2 is 8, take away 3 is 7, take
away 4 is 6’.

Write on board 10 take away 4 is 6.

Invite a child to come and write the number sentence on the board using the symbols – and = i.e. 10 – 4 = 6.

• Repeat for other subtraction calculations.

Give the children further examples to complete independently.

Put the question cards into the ‘magic’ box or bag. Invite a child to pull out a question card from the bag, for example 10 – 4 = and read the
question.

Q Do we have to add or subtract? How do you

know?

Q How will you work out the

answer?
Encourage the children to use their whiteboards to show you the answer and any jottings that they used.

Model some different ways of solving the problem drawing on the children’s strategies which might include:
I held up 10 fingers and I took away 4, leaving me with 6.
I looked at the number line and counted 4 jumps back from 10.
I put 10 in my head and counted back 4.
I drew a number line on my board and counted back 4 jumps from 10.
(Draw the jumps on the number line where these have been used.)

• Invite a child to come and pull another question from the bag, for example
5+6= .

Q What do we have to do? How do you

know?
Ask children to use their whiteboards to show you their workings and answers.
Highlight different strategies:
Some of you saw that this was a near double and you worked out 5 + 5 + 1 more.
Some of you held up 6 fingers and counted on from 5 some counted on from 6.
Some of you used a number line; you started on 5 and counted on 6.
Some of you put 5 in your head and counted on 6 or counted on from 6.

• Repeat this process for different questions, use numbers beyond 10 so that children have to use strategies other than counting on their fingers.

• Model drawing number lines and ask the children to try that strategy too.

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 Put a selection of questions face down on each table. Ask children to turn over a card and copy it into their book with the answer and any
jottings that they used. Provide number lines.

• 5 + 7 makes 12

Q How can we add 5 and 7 together?

• Take children’s suggestions.

Q Could we partition 7 into smaller numbers that would make it easier to add to 5?

• Talk to partners - any suggestions?

• Hopefully children have idea breaking 7 into 5 + 2 - use fingers to show 7 = 5 + 2 therefore 5 + 5 + 2 = 12.

• Easy to add 5s.

• What about:-

5 + 8? 8=5+3
5+5+3 Use fingers to demonstrate

• Children to try additions of their own - partitioning larger number into 5 and a bit - using hands.

Record calculation.
Using Number Facts ITP
Display the ITP showing the ‘bin’ (transparent) with 10 circles inside. Ask the
children to look at the number of circles and to estimate how many they think are
inside (click to make the ‘bin’ opaque to stop the pupils counting them).
Count the objects out of the ‘bin’ to check.
How could you tell that there were approximately ten balls?
Does the way the circles are arranged help?
Explain to the children that they are going to look at subtracting.
Display the ‘bin’ with 10 circles outside. Ask a pupil to place some of the circles into the ‘bin’.
How many circles are left outside the ‘bin’?
How many are inside the bin?
How many circles are there altogether?
How many circles did we take away?
Display the subtraction to check their answers (referring to the colours of the numbers and circles).
Repeat several times subtracting different amounts.
Now try changing the number of circles to begin with.
Try making the bin opaque and asking the children whether they can calculate how many are missing.
Ask children:
What is the difference between 3 and 5?
Take answers then explain that the word ‘difference’ has a very special meaning in maths.
Demonstrate using 2 towers of cubes: This one has 3 cubes and that one has 5.
The difference between 3 and 5 is 2.
Repeat with different numbers.
Now demonstrate the same thing using the Difference ITP

This ITP plays a short video sequence. It shows the 2 numbers of beads, slides the top line onto the bottom one then shows the same thing using
a number line and counting up from the smaller to the larger number. You can also reveal the calculation.
Give children access to cubes and number lines and ask them to find the difference between pairs of numbers.
Remind the children how to find a difference by counting up using a number line by doing a few examples together.
Now give each pair of children 2 strips of paper and ask them to write 1 at the top of one of them and 2 at the top of the other.
Using numbers up to 20 the children are to write 5 pairs of numbers with a difference of 1 on the one piece of paper and 5 pairs with a difference of
2 on the other. (Provide number lines where necessary.)
After a few minutes, ask one pair of children to read out an answer for the difference of 1. Record on the board. If another pair has the same
numbers they should cross them out.
Continue until one pair has crossed out all 5 pairs.
Now repeat for the difference of 2.
Children can play this with one pair against another, scoring points for numbers which the other pair doesn’t have.
Use differences of 3 or higher numbers as appropriate.

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Remind children how to subtract or find a difference by using a number line.
Give children number cards from 1 – 20.
Invite 2 children (with numbers fairly close together) to come and stand one either side of you.
Ask the others what the difference between the two numbers is.
Repeat several times.
Now put the children into pairs and ask each pair to sit beside another pair.
Give each group of 4 a stack of cards numbered 1 – 10.
The cards should be placed upside down.
Children then take 1 card each and the pairs work out the difference between their numbers.
The pair with the biggest/smallest difference wins a point.
After 5 rounds the pair with the most points is the winner.

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Show the children how to subtract multiples of 10 from a 2-digit number using 100 square.
Start by asking a child to point to any number greater the 20 on the 100 square.
Can anyone tell me what …… subtract 10 is?
Ask the child how they know the answer. Discuss the fact that you can move up one row.
Remind the children that the units number always stays the same when adding or subtracting 10.
Repeat for several different numbers then try subtracting other multiples of 10.
Ask the children to work in pairs. Give each pair a hundred square and a die marked 1, 2, 3, 10, 20 30.
Each child should have a start number of 100. They take turns to roll the die and subtract the number rolled. The first to reach 0 is the winner.

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 ACTIVITY SHEET Y1 22

9–1=
9–2=
9–3=
9–4=
9–5=
9–6=
9–7=
9–8=
9–9=

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OHT Y1 23

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