Subtraction within 10 Worksheet (Free Printable PDF)

What’s in the PDF

• Page 1 (Level 1, easier): It has six number-line sums such as “start at 8, hop back 3”, plus six take-away sums within ten.
• Page 2 (Level 2, harder): It has twelve subtraction sums, six missing-number sums like 10 − ? = 4, and a story sum about apples falling from a tree.
• Page 3: an answer key for both levels.

Print one level at a time. If Level 1 feels easy, move straight on to Level 2.

How to teach subtraction within 10

A number line turns subtraction into movement. Put a finger on the starting number and hop back one jump at a time, counting the hops. Where you land is the answer. Once children are confident, show them that they can also count up: for 9 − 7, start at seven and count up to nine. That is two, and it is often quicker than counting back seven.

What to watch for

The most common slip is counting the starting number as the first hop, which gives an answer one too big. Ask your child to say “one” only after the first jump. Also check that answers make sense: subtracting should never give a bigger number than the start.

Game: Number line hop

Chalk a number line from 0 to 10 outside, or use sticky notes along the floor. Call out a sum and let your child stand on the first number and jump back. Then swap: they call, you jump.

Everyday practice

Count down the last ten seconds before bath time, or count the steps left to the top of the stairs. Ask how many biscuits are left in a packet of ten after two are eaten.

Questions to ask while they work

• Where did you start?
• How many hops back did you make?
• Could you count up to find the answer instead?

Practise next

Try subtraction within 5, addition within 10, before, after, between. Check that your child can write the numbers with number tracing 1 to 10.