1st Grade Subtraction Worksheets (Ages 6–7)

Fingers are not the problem; using them for facts the child could already know is. Sort the sheet into two piles: facts within 10, which should be recalled, and facts within 20, worked out with a strategy. For the first pile, drill the matching addition until it is automatic, then show that 10 − 7 is 7 + 3 read backward. For the second, teach subtracting to 10 first. Finger use fades once facts are known.

A six-year-old subtracts within 20 and starts to do it without objects. The useful worksheet at this age links each subtraction to an addition the child already knows, so 13 − 5 is answered by thinking "5 and what makes 13" rather than by eight backward hops. Fact-family boxes, missing-number sentences and finding the difference between two rows of pictures all belong here. Do not expect speed yet; expect a chosen strategy. A child ready for this stage decodes CVC words automatically, writes a simple sentence with a capital letter and end punctuation, adds and subtracts fluently within 10, and counts and writes numerals confidently to 20.

The sheets cover taking away from a group, counting back from a number, finding the difference between two numbers and fact families linked to addition, which sit inside the Common Core Grade 1 (1.OA, 1.NBT, RF.1.3) outcomes for 1st Grade. Year 1 / Year 2 (UK), Class 1 (India) use the same skills at this age, so the sheets also fit families following those programmes.

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