Subtraction for Kids: Taking Away (Kindergarten and Grade 1 Math)

Hi, I'm Luna from DoodleBeez. Today we are learning how to take away. Another word for taking away is subtraction. We start with a group, take some away, and see how many are left.

Here is a story. Sam has six cookies. Let's draw them. One, two, three, four, five, six.

Sam eats two cookies. When we take away, we cross them out. Cross out one, cross out two.

Now count the cookies that are not crossed out. One, two, three, four. Four cookies are left. Six take away two equals four.

We can also take away on a number line. Let's try nine take away three. Find nine, and this time we hop backwards, because we are taking away.

Hop back one, hop back two, hop back three. We landed on six. So nine take away three equals six.

Here are two special cases. If you take away zero, nothing changes. Five take away zero is still five. And if you take away all of them, nothing is left. Five take away five equals zero.

Now it's your turn. Seven take away four. Pause the video and try it. Ready? Draw seven, cross out four, and count what is left. One, two, three. Seven take away four equals three.

Great job! Remember, taking away means cross some out and count what is left, or hop backwards on the number line. Practice subtraction in the Math Lab at doodlebeez.com. See you next time!