2nd Grade Take Away and Compare Stories Worksheet: Three Problems

Read a story problem to a seven-year-old and the answer often comes fast, but writing the matching number sentence is another matter. This 2nd grade take away and compare stories worksheet works on exactly that step. First, Noah gets 12 problems and misses 5. Next, James's cat grows from 6 kilograms to 13. Then Jackson's gift shop sells teddy bears, some red and some white, with three short questions to answer. Each time, your child writes a subtraction sentence that fits the story, then solves it. These word problems stay within 20, so attention goes to the reasoning. The solution page sets out each story as a list of facts. A second page gives the answer key.

Why the cat story is the hardest one

Most children learn subtraction as take away: Noah had 12 problems, 5 were wrong, so 7 were right. That is the first story on the page, and it fits easily.

The cat story is different. Nothing goes away; the cat gets heavier. Yet the question, how much weight did it gain, is still a subtraction: 13 - 6. Teachers call this a comparison or how much more problem, and it is one of the hardest for second graders because the word gained sounds like adding.

Writing a subtraction sentence forces your child to decide what the story really asks. So the page builds reasoning, not only arithmetic. That is the real goal.

At the table: the teddy bear shop

For the first story, ask what Noah started with and what went wrong. The sentence 12 - 5 grows from those two answers.

In the cat story, many children write 13 + 6 because the cat gained weight. Instead of correcting, ask, "Is the answer bigger or smaller than 13?" Then let your child rethink.

The teddy bears need the most care. It is a multi-step problem: 20 bears in the shop, 9 of them red, and 9 bears sold, 4 of them white. Suggest drawing two columns, red and white, and tapping each bear as you move it. However long it takes, the drawing keeps the numbers apart. Finally, read each part of the question slowly before writing.

Backpacks, toy boxes and Chutes and Ladders

Comparison stories are easy to make at home. Weigh a backpack before and after packing it, then ask how much heavier it got. In a toy box, count the red cars and the blue ones and ask how many more there are.

Also play Chutes and Ladders and talk about the moves. If a token sits on 18 and slides down to 11, ask how many squares it lost. Here, a subtraction sentence hides inside the game.

Once you finish the page, check each sentence with the answer key, not just the final number. Praise the writing: "You wrote the sentence before the answer. That shows your thinking."