Subtraction in Year 6

All that earlier practice at learning subtraction facts will come into good use this year as tricky numbers, including millions and decimals are subtracted mentally. The standard written method of subtraction will be used accurately, including crossing tens, hundreds and thousands boundaries and using decimals. It is important that children...

Subtraction in Year 5

Mental skills are developed further in Year 5, including subtracting around the thousands boundary (e.g. 6,002 – 5,899) and subtracting multiples of 1,000. The process of written subtraction should have been firmly established in Year 4. Children will build on this learning to subtract numbers with more than 4 digits...

Subtraction in Year 4

Quick mental subtraction skills are essential and we have plenty of practice! Bar models and place value charts can still play an important part in developing these skills. In Year 3 children will learn to use written methods to subtract two 3-digit numbers. This is extended in Year 4 to...

Subtraction in Year 3

Mental arithmetic should still be a vital part of lessons for children in Year 3 and we would like to highlight some of the main skills children need to have. These include: subtract by adjusting (e.g. taking 19 from a number by subtracting 20 and adding 1) subtract multiples of...

Subtraction in Year 2

Subtraction really takes off in Year 2 as the knowledge and skills gained in Year 1 are extended to larger numbers. These mental skills learned include: subtracting a single digit from a multiple of 10 (e.g. taking 6 from 20) subtracting a single digit from any 2-digit number (e.g. taking...

Subtraction in Year 1

Children make huge progress with subtraction in Year 1. To start with there is a range of language to be understood, using terms such as take away, subtract, how many are left, how much less is, find the difference between, as well as the minus (-) sign. Children will need...