Break Apart Cube Towers to Subtract Within 10

Build a cube or block tower, break off some blocks and count what is left before your child does the tower page. Check with the answer key.

Color cubes above the dashed line to take away from towers and write how many are left. The directions on the page read: Read each number sentence. Then, color the cubes above the dashed line to show the ones taken away. Then, count the cubes left under the line and write the number in the box. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for Kindergarten subtraction, 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 subtract using pictures. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

Pictures provide a concrete, visual representation of a subtraction situation. When a child sees 6 apples with 2 crossed out, they can count the remaining apples before they are capable of solving '6 − 2' abstractly. This supports the concrete-pictorial-abstract learning progression widely used in early math education.

Picture subtraction is typically the first mode of subtraction instruction in kindergarten, introduced around age 5. It precedes number-only equations and helps children attach meaning to the minus sign and equals sign before they work with purely symbolic math.

Ask your child to point to each picture and say how many there are, then point to the crossed-out or removed items and say how many are being taken away. Finally, count what is left together. Narrating the steps out loud helps reinforce the language of subtraction: 'start with,' 'take away,' 'how many are left.'

Kindergarteners should understand subtraction as taking apart or taking from. Per CCSS K.OA.A.1, they should represent subtraction with objects, drawings, and equations within 10. Fluency is expected within 5 (K.OA.A.5).

Start with concrete objects: give your child 5 crackers and ask them to eat 2, then count what remains. Use visual worksheets that show crossed-out items before introducing number sentences. The key is connecting the physical act of removing to the minus sign.

Most children find subtraction more challenging because it requires understanding that a group is getting smaller. Research suggests introducing subtraction alongside addition so students see them as related operations. Worksheets that pair addition and subtraction facts help build this connection.