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Subtraction · Grade 1

Subtraction Worksheets Within 10

Make the amount taken away visible before moving to number sentences. The starting number and the answer stay within 10, and answers never go below zero.

18 problemsAnswer key includedFree printableA4 & US Letter
Generate & printSee the worked example

What does the second number tell us?

Emma has seven counters and gives three to a friend. She writes seven in the answer box because seven is how many she started with. The subtraction asks a different question: how many are left after three are removed?

Start: ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Take away three: ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

7 − 3 = 4

The first number is the starting amount. The second is the amount taken away. The answer counts what remains. Have the child point to the removed counters and then to the remaining counters so the two quantities do not get mixed up.

Counting back means taking steps

Start at seven, then move back three times: six, five, four. The starting seven is not the first backward step. A child who says seven, six, five and answers five has made only two moves.

If the child writes 3: ask, “Did you count the counters we removed or the counters still here?” Naming both groups is more useful than simply telling the child to count again.

What happens with zero?

In 6 − 0, nothing is removed, so six remain. In 6 − 6, all six are removed, so zero remain. These two situations look similar on paper but mean different actions. Act them out once before asking the child to complete them independently.

This set uses starting numbers from 1 to 10 and may subtract zero or the entire starting number. It does not contain negative answers or subtraction across ten. The space under each question can hold a small drawing or a number-line sketch.

Make a practice set

Choose what to print. Selecting both shows the answer key on screen and prints the questions followed by the answers.

Print materials

After the practice

Choose one answer to check by adding the amount taken away to the amount left: 4 + 3 = 7 checks 7 − 3 = 4. If mistakes happen only when zero appears, revisit the two zero examples rather than repeating every problem. Allow pictures while the child is building the meaning of subtraction.

More about subtraction · Grade 1 worksheets

Grade 1 selected skill connection: 1.OA.C.6. See the Common Core grade guidance. This worksheet does not cover every requirement in the standard.