Take away in two steps. First take away the ones to reach ten, then take away what is still left. To subtract 6 from 14, take away 4 to reach 10, then take away the other 2 to reach 8. For a missing number, add the jump down to ten and the jump from ten.
Explore this idea with maths tools
Jump on a number line
2 + 3 = 5
Positive jumps go right. Negative jumps go left. Zero stays in the middle.
Words to know
- count back through ten
- subtract to reach ten first, then subtract the rest
- difference
- how far apart two numbers are
Worked examples
14 − 6
- 1.Split 6 into 4 and 2. 14 − 4 = 10.
- 2.10 − 2 = 8.
= 8
13 − 5
- 1.Split 5 into 3 and 2. 13 − 3 = 10.
- 2.10 − 2 = 8.
= 8
13 − ? = 7
- 1.Count back from 13 to 10: that is 3. Then from 10 to 7: that is 3.
- 2.3 + 3 = 6, so 13 − 6 = 7.
= 6
For parents
Method: Count back through ten
What to say: How many do we take to get to ten? How many more still need to go?
Common mistakes:
- Subtracts the smaller ones digit from the larger one, whichever number it belongs to.
- Reaches ten correctly, then takes away the whole second number from ten instead of only what is left.
- Counts back but says the starting number as the first step, so the result is one out.
- For a missing number, finds only the jump from the start down to ten.
- For a missing number, finds only the jump from ten down to the result.