Subtraction Teaching Resources
Browse subtraction worksheets, games and more teacher-created activities for your lesson plans!
Aligned with the Australian maths curriculum, including version 9.0, each resource in this subtraction collection has been carefully reviewed and curated by our expert teachers to ensure it's ready to use with your students!
Browse printables and digital activities for teaching students how to take away, use subtraction to compare quantities, subtract two-digit numbers with regrouping, solve word problems and so much more!
Whether you're teaching your year 1 class to add and subtract within 20 or your year 3 students how to fluently subtract within 1,000, or you're explaining to a year 6 group how to add or subtract integers on a number line, there are plenty of options for your planning.
New to teaching subtraction, or just looking for new ways to engage your students? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including a kid-friendly definition to explain what it means to subtract, plus a look at the subtraction sign and more maths vocabulary that will help you plan your lessons.
What Is Subtraction? A Kid-Friendly Definition
If you're teaching early years students and introducing subtraction for the very first time, you may need a definition that can help you explain what it means to subtract numbers.
Subtraction is a maths operation we can use when we have a number and we want to find out what's left when we take away another number.
For example, let's imagine you have 5 toys, and your friend takes 2 of them home. How can you determine how many toys are left? You can use subtraction!
If you subtract 2 from the number 5, you are left with 3.
What Is the Subtraction Sign Called?
There are several maths symbols and signs that help us understand the relationships between numbers in our maths problems. Students should learn early on to identify the subtraction symbol, which is called the minus sign.
The minus sign (-) looks like a short line.
When it is placed between two numbers, it lets us know that we should subtract the number on the right from the number on the left.
For example, look at the subtraction problem below:
- 6-3
In this problem, the minus sign tells us that you will need to subtract — or take away — 3 from the number 6.
What Is the Answer to a Subtraction Problem Called?
Teaching maths in primary school involves teaching a significant amount of maths vocabulary!
When it comes to subtraction, one word kids need to learn early on is 'difference' — this is the word we use for the answer to a subtraction problem.
What Are the Numbers Called in Subtraction?
Words like subtraction, difference and minus are commonly used in the classroom, but what about the numbers in a subtraction problem?
These are not typically taught to students, but it can be helpful to keep the names of the numbers in a subtraction problem in your back pocket anyway!
- Minuend — This is the number on the left in a subtraction problem. It is the number that you are 'taking away' from.
- Subtrahend — This is the number on the right in a subtraction problem. It is the number that you are 'taking away.'
Teaching Kids How to Subtract — 3 Fun Ideas From Our Teacher Team
Looking for some tips on teaching subtraction? This collection of resources is full of ideas from our expert maths teachers, but we didn't stop there.
Here are some tips that may help you teach kids how to subtract and build their fluency!
1. Focus on Missing Addends
Missing addend addition is sometimes easier for kids to grasp when tackling subtraction problems.
For example, rather than 17 - 8, gear your students to think, '8 plus what equals 17?'
2. Teach Regrouping With Base-10 Blocks
Students need to understand they aren't changing the value of the minuend in the subtraction problem, just what it looks like. For example, 42 is still 42, even if it's represented as 30 + 12 instead of 40 + 2.
This is where it helps to teach the concept of regrouping using Base-10 or MAB blocks.
3. Use Subtraction Rhymes
Using fun rhymes as mnemonics in subtraction can help your student remember the rules. Here's one of our favourites for teaching students subtraction with regrouping:
More on top?
No need to stop!
More on the floor?
Go next door.
Add 10 more.
If the numbers are the same, then 0 is the name!
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Trade It! Subtraction with Regrouping Game
Play a fun, hands-on board game in groups when learning to solve subtraction equations that require regrouping.
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Partitioning Teaching Presentation
Introduce the partitioning strategy to your students with this teaching presentation.
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Order of Operations – Interactive Activity
Solve expressions by using the order of operations with this interactive activity.
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Number Talks - Balancing Equations Task Cards
Build number sense skills with this set of 40 task cards.
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Bobby's Board Games – Maths Game Challenge
Challenge students to design and make a maths board game.
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Fact Family Find and Flip - Addition and Subtraction (Lower)
Addition and subtraction game cards demonstrating the relationship between fact families.
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Maths Activity Ideas for Parents - Addition and Subtraction
An information sheet for parents or carers to use when assisting children with addition and subtraction at home.
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Feed the Pumpkins - Year 1 Subtraction Worksheet
Feed the pumpkins and practise subtraction to twenty with a Halloween subtraction worksheet.
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Cut & Paste Fact Family Worksheets
Use these fact family houses worksheet set to practise addition and subtraction fact families with your students, as well as fine motor skills.
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Multi-Digit Subtraction - Interactive Claw Machine
Review knowledge of 3-and-4-digit subtraction with an exciting interactive claw machine game!
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Printable Maths Puzzles - Subtraction Tarsia
Print a set of 7 Tarsia puzzles to practise solving single-to-multi-digit subtraction problems.
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3-Digit Subtraction - Bar Model Worksheet
Review and assess your students’ subtraction skills with a 3-digit subtraction worksheet focusing on the bar model strategy.
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Adding and Subtracting Integers - Tarsia Puzzle
Practise adding and subtracting integers with a printable Tarsia puzzle!
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Number Bonds Subtraction - Worksheet
Practise subtraction using number bonds with differentiated number bond worksheets.
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Estimating Decimal Sum and Differences — Year 6 Maths Mazes
Year 6 students can practise estimating solutions to decimal addition and subtraction equations with this set of maths mazes.
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Subtracting 2-Digit Numbers Task Cards
Practice 2-digit subtraction with this set of 18 task cards.
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Making Tens Subtraction Worksheet
Partition numbers to subtract with a printable subtraction worksheet.
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Operation Domination Game
A fun game using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
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2-Digit Subtraction Game - Dominoes
Use this printable set of double-digit subtraction dominoes to practice a variety of subtraction strategies.
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3-Digit Subtraction Strategies - Task Cards
Practise 3-digit subtraction strategies with a set of 24 subtraction task cards.
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Adding and Subtracting Decimals — Small Group Bingo Game
Review how to add and subtract decimals with a printable small group bingo game.
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Addition and Subtraction with Decimals – Task Cards
Practise adding and subtracting multi-digit decimals with this set of 16 task cards.
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Plus One and Minus One Math Machine Worksheet
A worksheet to practise generating a number that is one more than or one less than another number.
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Subtraction Sausage Dog – Worksheet
A set of superb subtraction sausage dog worksheets.
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Numbers and Symbols Mini Flashcards
Print a set of colourful number and symbol cards for various maths lessons.
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Colouring by Numbers - Operations
Colouring pages to be used when working with operations.
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Polygon Puzzles - Subtraction Worksheets with Answers
Line the sum up with the corresponding answer.
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Plan a Halloween Party – Estimation Project
Plan your own Halloween party and practice estimating sums, differences and products of whole numbers and decimals with an engaging maths project!
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Spooky 3-Digit Subtraction - Year 3 Halloween Maths Game
Practise triple-digit subtraction with regrouping with an exciting hidden picture Halloween Maths Game.
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Halloween 3-Digit Subtraction Worksheet
Bring a bit of spooky season into your classroom with a printable Halloween 3-Digit Subtraction worksheet.
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Subtraction within 100 - Two-Digit Subtraction Puzzles
Practise subtraction strategies with a set of printable maths puzzles.
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4 Digit Subtraction - Flip It Card Game
Practise subtracting 4-digit numbers with and without regrouping with a fun game of Subtraction Flip It!