1st Grade Subtracting 0 Worksheet: When Nothing Is Taken Away

Hand a six-year-old a bag of 24 marbles, take nothing out, and ask how many are inside. Some children will happily start counting all 24 again. This 1st grade subtracting 0 worksheet helps them see why they do not have to. Eight colored boxes each hold a two-digit number with - 0 below it, set in tens and ones columns. The first box works 97 - 0 as a model: a red loop around the ones, a note that reads 7 - 0 = 7, and the tens, 9, copied down. The problems that follow range from 10 - 0 to 71 - 0. Your child writes each answer on the line. A second page gives the answer key.

Why zero deserves its own page

Zero is a strange number for young children. Adding it or taking it away changes nothing, and that can feel like a trick. Once a child sees this zero rule clearly, though, a whole family of facts becomes automatic.

The page makes the rule visible through column subtraction. In every box, the number on top and the answer below are the same, digit for digit. The worked example, 97 - 0, shows it in the tens and ones columns: 7 - 0 stays 7, then the 9 comes down.

Also, the last box is 10 - 0. Here a zero sits on top and another zero below, which tests whether the child reads the digits or only the pattern. So even an easy page holds one real question. Zero matters.

At the table: the box with 10 - 0

Begin by asking your child to point to the 0 in the example. "What do we take away here?"

Many children finish the first boxes fast. The pink box at the bottom right, 10 - 0, is where they slow down. With zeros in two places, a child may write 0, or 1, or even 9, thinking every subtraction must make something smaller. Instead of correcting, cover the tens with a finger and ask, "What is 0 take away 0?" Then uncover the 1 and let your child finish.

Some children also ask why the page has no hard problems. That question is worth a smile. Ask them to explain the rule in their own words.

Nothing taken, nothing changed

The best way to make take away zero stick is to act it out. Line up five toy cars, then pretend to take some away with an empty hand, and ask how many cars stay. While you put away groceries, hold up the egg box, take out no eggs, and ask whether the number changed.

Also, Go Fish is a natural fit. When the other player says "Go fish," your child gives away zero cards, so ask how many cards are still in their hand.

Finally, check the page with the answer key and name the work: "You explained the zero rule in your own words."