Subtraction Lesson Plan for Kindergarten

Learning objective

• Practice subtraction facts with step-by-step guided exercises
• Build subtraction skills aligned to Kindergarten math standards
• Apply number sense and problem-solving to subtraction facts activities

Materials

• Subtract and draw (without numbers) - Apple
• Subtracting objects
• Vertical Subtraction
• Subtract 1-Digit Numbers
• Vertical Subtraction No Regrouping
• Subtract Within 20 No Borrowing
• Pencils, and whiteboard space for the modeled examples

Lesson steps

1. 1. Warm up together (5 min)

   Open with a quick count-around or number talk that touches subtraction. Ask students where they have seen subtraction outside of math class. You are listening for who already has the vocabulary and who does not, so keep it light and let several students answer.

2. 2. Model it (I do) (10 min)

   Work two examples of subtraction on the board, thinking out loud the whole way. Say the quiet parts: what you notice first, which step you do next, and why. Deliberately make one small error on the second example and let the class catch it.

3. 3. Practice together (we do) (10 min)

   Work three more problems as a class. Ask a different student to supply each step rather than the whole answer. If a step stalls, drop back to concrete objects or a drawing before moving on.

4. 4. Independent practice (you do) (15 min)

   Hand out "Subtract and draw (without numbers) - Apple". Students work independently while you circulate. Note who is fluent, who is counting on fingers, and who has not started, because that grouping drives tomorrow's small group.

5. 5. Close the loop (5 min)

   Pull the class back. Ask one student to explain a problem they got right and one to name something that is still confusing. End on the confusion, not the success, so students learn that naming a gap is normal.

Check for understanding

Collect the practice pages and sort them into three piles: fluent, developing, and not yet. Any student in the third pile needs subtraction retaught in a small group before the class moves on.

Differentiation

Extra support. Students who stall: pull them into a small group and rebuild subtraction with concrete materials or a simpler text before asking for the written work again. Do not send the page home as homework, it will just rehearse the misunderstanding.

Extension. Students who finish early: ask them to write their own subtraction problem for a partner to solve, then check the partner's work. Creating a problem is harder than solving one and it surfaces whether they really understand subtraction.

Skills covered in this lesson

Subtraction facts · Subtract Vertical · Subtraction Word Problems · Subtract Single Digits · Subtract Within 5 · Add Subtract Objects Pictures · Subtract Using Pictures · Subtract Objects · Subtract Vertical Within 20 · Subtract Vertical Within 20 No Regrouping · Subtract 1 Digit Within 20 · Subtract Within 20 No Borrow