Equal or Not Equal, Facts Within 20

Ask your child to circle the sign before solving each problem. For equal or not equal, find the value of each side first, then compare. Use the review page after the strategy sheets, and check it with the answer key.

Find the value of each side within 20, then write = or the not equal sign. The equal sign (=) means both sides have the same value. The not equal sign (≠) means the sides are different. Problems on the page include 10 + 7, 6 + 10 and 19 − 8. The directions on the page read: Find the answer for each side. Then, write = or ≠ in the box. The page opens with a worked example, and the answer key shows every answer.

Yes, both. We made it for 1st Grade addition, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with mixed addition and subtraction facts. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

When a page mixes plus and minus signs, students have to read each sign before they work. This builds the habit of checking the operation instead of repeating the same move.

Equal means both sides of an equation have the same value, like 8 + 4 = 7 + 5. Not equal means the values differ, so students write the not equal sign. This builds the idea that the equal sign means the same as.

Use it after your child has practiced adding and subtracting separately. Check it with the answer key and note which facts took the longest, then return to the strategy sheets for those facts.

They support 1.OA.C.6 (add and subtract within 20) and 1.OA.D.7 (true and false equations).

By the end of first grade, students should fluently add within 10 (CCSS 1.OA.C.6) and solve addition problems within 20 using strategies like counting on, making ten, and decomposing numbers. They should also add within 100 using place value understanding (1.NBT.C.4).

Start with adding a two-digit number and a one-digit number, then progress to two two-digit numbers. Use place value understanding: add the tens first, then the ones. Base-ten blocks and place value worksheets make this concrete before moving to abstract equations.

Key strategies include counting on from the larger number, making a ten (e.g., 8+5 becomes 8+2+3), using doubles (6+6=12) and near-doubles (6+7=6+6+1), and decomposing to known facts. Worksheets that practice each strategy separately help students build fluency.