Playdates

Playdate focus

Practice subtracting by counting up to find the difference. Reinforce that “take away” and “difference” are two good models for subtraction.

Storybook properties

This has counting to 10 and shapes.

Activities properties

These involve addition and some estimating of small quantities.

Distance or gap size

If you are asked to find the difference between two numbers, you are doing a subtraction problem. Finding the difference is understood as finding the distance between the numbers, and this can be calculated by asking what number needs to be added to span the gap between them.

Counting On

Use finding the difference of 9 and 6 as an example. Calculate this by keeping track of how many numbers you use as you Count On from 6 to 9. As with the instructions for adding in a previous learning step, this can be done with or without fingers. If your child has been practicing adding problems, they can probably very quickly count “7, 8, 9” and see that the gap is 3.

Subtracting and adding

Using Counting On to find the difference is a great way to see the connection between adding and subtracting. When we Counted On starting at 6 to add 6 + 3, we wanted to find the result of Counting On three times. When we Counted On from 6 to find 9 – 6, we knew the result of 9 and wanted to find out what we needed to add to 6 to get there.

Differences of 1 to 4

With practice, your child will build up speed using this approach for finding differences of sizes 1 to 4. Take your time and make sure everyone enjoys the process.