Let’s talk the best way to teach subtraction. For adults, it’s a simple concept—take something away, and you have less. But for kindergarten students? It’s a wild ride. One minute, they’re confidently counting to ten, and the next, they’re staring at you in complete confusion when you ask them what happens if you take two away from five. Cue the blank stares, exaggerated sighs, and maybe even a dramatic "This is too hard!" moment.
But don’t worry—subtraction doesn’t have to feel like a battlefield. With the right approach, subtraction lessons for kindergarten can be engaging, hands-on, and, dare I say it, fun! Let’s dive into how we can introduce subtraction in a way that actually makes sense to little learners.
Start with the Basics: What Is Subtraction?
Before we throw worksheets and word problems at our students, they need to understand what the concept of subtraction actually means. Young students are concrete thinkers and can't just be presented with a subtraction sentence—they need to see it, touch it and experience it before they truly get it. That’s why starting with real-world scenarios is key.
- Use Storytelling: Create a simple subtraction story problem like, "There were five apples on the table. You ate two. How many are left?" Suddenly, subtraction is personal (and a little heartbreaking, if they love apples).
- Act It Out: Have students act out simple subtraction problems by physically removing objects from a group. Hands-on learning is a game changer, whether it’s erasers, blocks, or fingers. Students could also create subtraction towers. They can easily show the subtraction with two different cube colours, block colours, etc. All of these activities will help students to achieve subtraction success, and build a deeper understanding of the basics of subtraction.
- Introduce Subtraction Words: Instead of just talking about the "minus sign" and "take away," use words they’ll actually hear in daily life, like "gone," "disappear," or "left." Having subtraction lesson plans for kindergarten can help ensure you introduce all the right vocabulary!
Make It Hands-On (Because Worksheets Alone Won’t Cut It)
Kindergarteners learn best when they’re moving, touching and playing. There are lots of hands-on ways to give students subtraction practice. Here are a few hands-on subtraction activities and subtraction games that will keep them engaged - you can use these math games with small groups for math centers, or as a whole group to consolidate different strategies for subtracting:
- Snack Subtraction – Who doesn’t love a math lesson that involves food? Give students a small handful of crackers or fruit snacks. Have them eat one at a time while saying, "I had five, I ate one, now I have four." It’s subtraction in action (and you’ll be the favourite teacher for using snacks).
- Hungry Shark Subtraction Mats – For a fun ocean-themed twist, these Hungry Shark Subtraction Mats make practising subtraction interactive. Kids "feed" the hungry shark by taking away fish and solving subtraction problems along the way.
- Bowling for Numbers – This makes an amazing subtraction game, and it will fast become a favorite activity! Set up six bowling pins (or plastic cups). Have students roll a ball and knock some down, then count how many are left standing. Boom—students are working on subtraction strategies without even realising it!
- Takeaway Trash Game – This fun subtraction game turns subtraction into a hands-on, engaging experience. Kids take turns removing "trash" from a pile, visually seeing subtraction in action while having fun. You can easily differentiate this activity by providing students with different subtraction equations, depending on what level they're at. For example, some students might work with numbers to ten, while other students might be working with bigger numbers such as teen numbers.
- Toy Takeaway – Story problems can be great for teaching subtraction. Line up some small toys or stuffed animals, then remove a few while asking students to count how many remain. See if they can also verbalise subtraction number sentences.
- Subtraction Hopscotch – For this fun game, draw numbers on the pavement or classroom floor and have kids jump to different numbers as they "subtract" steps. This is a super fun way to work on subtraction skills, and it's the perfect way to get some extra practice of gross motor skills at the same time!
- Playdough Smash – Subtraction Smash is always a favourite subtraction activity with students. Give them a set number of play dough balls and let them smash one at a time as they subtract. It’s surprisingly satisfying.
Visual Aids and Manipulatives to Reinforce Subtraction
While hands-on activities are great, kids also need visual support to make subtraction click. Consider using:
- Ten Frames – These help kids "see" subtraction by filling up a frame with counters or small objects, and then removing them.
- Number Lines – Having kids physically hop backward on a number line makes subtraction more concrete.
- Picture Books – Stories like Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons make subtraction fun and relatable.
- Anchor Charts – Create colourful posters or a subtraction anchor chart with subtraction keywords and examples so students can refer back to them.
The Hive has many digital learning tools to support your Kindergarten subtraction lessons, including ten frames, counting apps, number lines and more.
Bringing in Subtraction Lessons for Kindergarten Worksheets
While worksheets aren’t the main event, they do have their place—especially when paired with interactive activities. The trick is making sure they’re engaging, simple and not just busy work.
- Look for colouring-based subtraction worksheets where students can cross out objects or draw pictures to solve problems. Here are a few examples that are included in our subtraction lessons for kindergarten.
- Try cut-and-paste activities where students physically remove images to show subtraction in action.
- Use dice and spinners to generate numbers for subtraction problems, making it feel more like a game.
Making Subtraction Fun (and Less Frustrating) for Everyone
At the end of the day, subtraction doesn’t have to be a subject that students (and teachers!) fear. By incorporating movement, stories, visuals and real-life experiences, kindergarteners can build a strong foundation without feeling overwhelmed.
So, the next time your students groan at the thought of "taking away," just grab some crackers, a bowling ball, or even a few stuffed animals, and watch subtraction start making sense. Who knew math could be this fun?
Looking for more?
In The Hive, you'll find evidence-based lesson plans to help you teach subtraction lessons in Kindergarten - as well as every other Kindergarten math concept too! There are also units of work for first grade and second grade too, where students will explore a variety of strategies and different ways to solve subtraction problems.
Each subtraction unit of work is designed to build a solid foundation, with five days of differentiated learning activities with learning intentions and success criteria, explicit teaching lessons, guided and independent activities, and matching resources, games and worksheets.
Plus, you'll love our growing library of digital learning tools to help support your subtraction lessons. Our digital learning tools include
- Counters
- Ten frames
- Base 10 Blocks
- Number Line
- Number of the Day
- Part Part Whole
- Subitising
- Tallies
- Hundreds Square
- Dice
- Dominoes
- Abacus
- Rekenrek
- Skip Counting/Reverse Skip Counting
- ... and so much more!
Check them out with a 14 day free trial.
