Students practice early subtraction skills on this worksheet with the help of leaping ballerinas, frogs, and monkeys.

Kindergarten pages feature number lines and subtraction problems with -1 and -2. Each line features arrows and corresponding subtraction problems so students can see the answer in action. For example, in the problem 3 - 2, the number line shows 3 - 1 and 3 - 2, so students can see the answer of 1 clearly. Then, they write it on the line.

First-grade pages feature subtraction up to -4. Number lines feature arrows and show the counting back strategy so students can see the answer clearly, but the number line isn't labeled with addition problems. Some number lines go up to 15. Students count back and write the answer on the line.

When students first begin learning the concept of subtraction, it can be very helpful to tie it to the concept of counting back. This helps them understand the mechanism behind subtraction so they can tackle more difficult subtraction problems as they get older.

Let students count back on a number line when you give them a subtraction problem. Start with -1 and -2 before having them try bigger numbers. They can draw lines on the number line, or they can place markers as they count backward to get the answer.

As students get more proficient, they can start with bigger numbers or count back with higher numbers. Students can write their own number lines, or you could provide a segment of a number line to challenge student thinking. For example, you could provide a number line from 5 to 10, and students fill in the beginning of the number line before solving the problem.