Addition and subtractionGrades K–1
One-digit subtraction worksheets
A sheet of single-digit subtraction facts with a blank for each answer, stacked in columns by default. Limit the largest number, focus on one subtrahend, and choose 10 to 100 problems. An answer key is optional.
- Fresh problems every time
- Answer key on its own page
- Print or PDF, Letter or A4
- Free, no sign-up
On this page
Taking away, in symbols
Children usually meet subtraction through stories and pictures: five birds, two fly away. This page is for the next step, when the story has become a symbol and the child must recall or work out a fact on sight. Each problem prints the larger number on top and the smaller below the minus sign, with the answer written underneath. The preset uses a largest number of 10, so every answer is between 0 and 9.
It is intended for kindergarten and grade 1. If the child is still counting objects to subtract, go back to kindergarten addition and subtraction, which has the crossed-out pictures.
Choosing options
- Operation. Subtraction is the preset.
- Fact focus. "All facts in range" shuffles the full set. Selecting "Only the 4s" means each problem subtracts 4, so you can drill one fact family at a time. The starting number never goes past the largest number you set.
- Largest number. Anywhere from 5 to 20. Use 5 for the first facts. Use 10 for the end-of-kindergarten goal. Use 20 once you reach the teens in grade 1.
- Layout. Vertical (stacked) is the preset, which matches how children will write larger subtraction later. Horizontal fits more problems across the page.
- Number of problems. From 10 to 100. The default of 30 is a full page. Fifty or more becomes a small-type timed sheet.
- Include the answer key.
Worked example: 9 − 6
Here are two ways a child can solve a problem without memorizing it.
- Count back. Start at 9 and count back six: eight, seven, six, five, four, three. The answer is 3. Counting back six is slow and error-prone, so keep it for small jumps.
- Think addition. Ask, "What do I add to 6 to get 9?" Six plus three is nine, so 9 − 6 = 3. This is faster for big take-aways.
- Check with fingers. Hold up nine fingers, fold down six, count what remains: three.
Show the child that 6 + 3 = 9, 3 + 6 = 9, 9 − 3 = 6 and 9 − 6 = 3 are one family. Understanding that relationship does more than any amount of rote counting back.
Common errors
- Reversing the numbers. A child writes 6 − 9 = 3. The vertical layout helps because the top number is clearly the starting amount.
- Answering with the top number. Subtracting zero is easy, but a child may copy 9 for 9 − 6. Ask, "Did anything go away?"
- Off-by-one counting back. If they include the starting number when counting, the answer comes out one too big.
- Getting 0 wrong. Subtracting a number from itself gives 0, and many children need to be told so explicitly.
Look through the answer key after a few sessions. If a particular subtrahend keeps appearing in the misses, print a sheet focused only on it. Pair this practice with its addition twin, sums to ten so the two operations support each other.