Kindergarten Missing Number Subtraction Worksheet: Fill In Up to 10

A child who had eight stickers and now has five will often ask where the others went. That question is real subtraction, so this kindergarten missing number subtraction worksheet turns it into a written puzzle. First, a worked example shows 10 - 8 = 2, with the 8 in pink, and below it seven boxes give the start and the end, so the child finds how many went away. Meanwhile, a boy with glasses kneels beside the instructions. The PDF has two pages: the worksheet and its answer key.

Why a missing middle number is a big step

Most subtractions ask what is left. However, this page asks something harder: how many went away? The page shows the start and the end, so the child must find the gap between them.

That gap links adding and subtracting. For example, to solve 9 - blank = 7, many children use counting up to subtract, from seven to nine. That is adding in disguise, and noticing it is one of the big ideas of early math.

The boxes do not follow an order of difficulty. Every number sits among the numbers 1 to 10, yet 2 - blank = 1 comes after 10 - blank = 5. As a result, the child must think about each one. Fresh every time.

At the table: eight, then five, and the gap

Read the example together: "Ten take away eight is two." Then point to the pink 8 and say, "This number was hiding."

Next, try 8 - blank = 5. A common slip is to copy the 5 into the empty box, while another is to add the two numbers. Instead of correcting, hold up eight fingers and say, "Fold some down until five are standing. How many did you fold?" The folded fingers show the missing number.

For 10 - blank = 5, both hands help, because your child can hold up ten, fold one whole hand, and see the gap at once. That small moment of surprise deserves a word out loud.

After the page: frogs on a log and cookies in a jar

Fill-in subtraction shows up at home all the time: put six cookies in a jar, secretly take some, and let your child count what is left. Then ask, "How many did I take?"

Also, the song "Five Little Speckled Frogs" sends one frog into the pool with each verse. Line up five toy frogs or blocks on a shelf while you sing, and stop mid-song to ask how many jumped in. Your child is working out how many went away without a worksheet.

Finally, check the page with the answer key together. Praise the strategy rather than the score: "You counted up from five. That is a smart way to subtract."