It is important that children recognise that subtraction questions can be phrased in several different ways. These four worksheets use the following:

9 take away 4

take 4 from 9

9 subtract 4

subtract 4 from 9

what is 4 less than 9 ?

how many less is 4 than 9 ?

With these questions children sometimes become confused as to which number they are subtracting from and this can lead to problems later with written methods, so it is worthwhile spending time on these terms.

These worksheets can be found in the Superbrains section, under Subtraction.

Go to our Subtraction questions.

With Christmas coming up very soon this is the final set of pages in our mini series on subtraction for year 2, which looks at subtracting a pair of multiples of 100.

They show how important it is for children to learn their number bonds to 10, that is, they should know off by heart all possible additions and subtractions of single digits. Knowing this makes subtracting whole hundreds very easy, eg knowing that 8 – 3 is 5 means you can easily work out that 800 – 300 is  500.

Subtracting whole hundreds

Sometimes the easiest way to carry out a subtraction question is to do it by counting up, or adding on, from the smaller number to the larger number. This is often the case when the two numbers are close to each other but either side of the hundreds boundary.

For example, 102 – 97 can be done by adding on 3 to 97 to make 100 and then another 2 to make 102. Altogether 5 has been added on. Children may well use their fingers to help do this – there is nothing wrong with that!

Subtract numbers either side of 100

A much harder set of questions on these four worksheets. This time we are looking at taking away 19 from 2-digit numbers. Usually the easiest way to do this is to subtract 20 and then add one to the answer. If the number has a 9 in the units it is probably easier to just subtract the 19 in one go.

Traditionally it might have been expected to resort to written methods to do this but the new Primary Framwork for Maths is very keen on children been quick and able mentally before they start to work anything out on paper.

Subtract 19 from 2-digit numbers

When subtracting 11 from a number often the easiest way is to subtract 10 and then count back one. Some people prefer to subtract the unit first and then the ten. The same can be said for subtracting 21: subtract 20 and count back one.

These pages are good practice for children just getting to grips with tens and units and as they are comparatively easy are excelent confidence boosters.

Subtract 11 or 21 from 2-digit numbers

Here we have an excellent set of four maths worksheets introducing subtraction of both tens and units. There is no ‘decomposition’ involved; in other words the units to be taken away are always smaller than or equal to the units of the number.

Interestingly, most adults who do this ‘in their heads’ start by taking the tens away and then the units, which is the opposite of the way we do it on paper. Certainly starting with the tens when working mentally is a good strategy to use.

Subtracting tens and units (no decomposition)

These four worksheets are aimed at giving children practice at subtracting multiples of ten from 100. The aim of this is that they learn the answers off by heart, so they no longer have to count on or back. As there only a short number of possibilities it is important for children to know these pairs of numbers which make 100:

10 and 90

20 and 80

30 and 70

40 and 60

50 and 50.

Knowing these makes it much easier to subtract any 2-digit number ‘in your head’.

Subtracting multiples of 10 from 100

Here we have a set of pages where the subtraction number sentence need to be completed. There are several different strategies which can be used to do this, depending on which number is missing.

For example: in the number sentence 16 – ? = 7 the best way to do this is to count back 7 or to mentally subtract 7 from 16.

But, in the number sentence ? – 9 = 7 the best way to find the missing number is to add 9 and 7.

Thirdly the number sentence 16 – 9 = ? can be done by either counting back 9 from 16 or counting up from 9 to 16.

Because there are different techniques within the one page some children may find this trickier than expected.

Complete subtraction number sentences

One of the easiest ways of subtracting nine from a number is to subtract ten and then add one. This is a simple mental arithmetic ‘trick’ which many children do not pick up on and is much quicker than counting back nine using fingers etc. Probably the only time this method is not the most efficient is when the 2-digit number already has a 9 in the units.

Here we have four pages on subtracting 9 from 2-digit numbers and if your child has really grasped this idea they should be able to fly through a page in no time at all!

Subtracting 9 from a 2-digit number

Here we have a set of worksheets which looks at subtraction of whole tens. Once children have become confident with counting forwards and backwards in ones and twos the next step is to be able to count in tens. Be careful, however, as some children can rote learn this with no understanding of how large the numbers are, so it is a good idea to have practical apparatus handy.
When confident with counting in tens they can be introduced to addition and subtraction of whole tens. A number line is useful to begin with, so that they can hop up and down the line saying each whole ten in turn or marking with an arrow each step of 10. Eventually they should be able to do these without the help of the number line.

Subtracting whole tens