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Subtraction as taking away or separating

CONCEPTUAL
Mathematics›Addition & Subtraction|Ages 4—6|ID: mt_zuKAX6lcYR

Understand subtraction as taking away or separating from a group to find how many remain

Mastery Evidence

  • Model 'taking away' with physical objects and say how many remain
  • Act out a 'take from' situation (e.g. 5 biscuits, eat 2, how many left?)
  • Explain that subtraction means finding how many are left

Assessment Prompt

“If [child] has 9 biscuits and eats 3, do they understand that subtracting means taking some away — and can they tell you 6 biscuits are left?”

Curriculum Standards2 alignments

K.OA.1Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
Represent Addition and Subtraction

Represent addition and subtraction with objects, fingers, mental images, drawings, sounds (e.g., claps), acting out situations, verbal explanations, expressions, or equations.

Operations and Algebraic Thinking
Maths/Y1/AS/1The national curriculum in England
Read and write addition and subtraction statements

Read, write and interpret mathematical statements involving addition (+), subtraction (–) and equals (=) signs.

Mathematics · Key Stage 1

Prerequisites1

Show full prerequisite tree
  • How Many in Total? hard

    Understanding subtraction as taking away requires knowing numbers represent quantities (cardinality)

    • One-to-one counting hard

      Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'

Unlocks8