2nd Grade Cross Out Pictures to Subtract Worksheet: Six Problems Within 20

Hand a seven-year-old twelve apples, say take away seven, and the hand reaches out to remove them one by one. This 2nd grade cross out pictures to subtract worksheet keeps that hand at work on paper. Six boxes show red apples, yellow stars, black bulls and little snails, each next to a vertical subtraction such as 12 - 7 or 20 - 9. Your child counts the pictures, crosses out the number being taken away, then counts what remains and writes the answer under the line. Every problem is a subtraction within 20, and the pictures always match the first number. A second page gives the answer key.

Why crossing out makes subtraction visible

For young children, take away is the most natural meaning of subtraction: you had some, some went, how many now? Crossing out a picture is the paper version of removing an object, so the operation becomes something your child can see.

The page also links two forms. Each picture box sits beside a vertical subtraction, the column format your child will use with bigger numbers later. Writing the answer under the line, right after crossing out, ties the drawing to the symbols.

The arrangements help too. For example, the twenty stars come in rows of four, so crossing out nine means two full rows and one more. Your child can see that structure instead of counting every star. Patterns save effort.

At the table: the stars and the bulls

Start with the snails. Eight snails and three to take away make a calm first box. Ask, "How many snails? How many go away?"

The big star box is where counts drift. With twenty stars, a child may cross out ten instead of nine. Suggest crossing out in order, row by row, while saying the numbers aloud. If the answer comes out as 10, ask your child to count the crossed stars again.

The black bulls invite the opposite slip. Only two go away, yet some children cross out two and then count all eleven again. Slow counting wins here. Point to the crossed ones and say, "These are gone. Count only the others."

Raisins, stickers and Hide and Seek

Take-away subtraction is easy to act out. At snack time, set out fourteen raisins, eat five together and ask how many remain. With stickers, peel a few off a sheet and count the ones still there.

Also, Hide and Seek has a built-in subtraction. If six cousins hide and the seeker finds two, ask how many cousins the seeker still has to find. Children love that question because the answer runs off giggling.

Once you finish the page, check the six answers against the key. Then praise the careful hand: "You crossed out exactly the right number every time."