Sometimes subtraction can be tricky to master, but using familiar tools like ten frames can really boost kids’ confidence and make practice fun!  These spring ten frame subtraction printables are a great way to work on subtraction within 10 in a hands-on, engaging way this spring!

They pair perfectly with our Number Formation Pack!

Spring Ten Frame Subtraction

Ten frames are a popular learning tool in many early elementary classrooms, and they are definitely amazing to use for mathematical thinking and strategy.

Counting, subitizing (recognizing sets instantly without counting each item), one to one correspondence, grouping – there are many ways that ten frames are used in early mathematics.

Since my kids are so familiar with ten frames because we use them almost daily, I knew that incorporating them as a tool for their first attempts at subtraction would make my students feel comfortable and confident.

Prepping this activity was super simple – I just printed off the page I wanted to use first, grabbed some crayons and I was set!

My small group and I got started by reading the equation on the first flower: 10 – 8.

We knew that the first number in a subtraction equation tells us how many to start with, so we first put ten dots in our ten frame.

The second number was eight, meaning that eight went away, and were gone. We physically put X’s on eight dots to cross them out.

The act of placing dots on the ten frame and then crossing them out was helpful for my students because they were able to act out the problem.

We could easily see that 10 – 8 = 2 since there were just two dots remaining on the ten frame.

We kept reading equations on the flower, placing dots on the ten frames and crossing them off to solve the problems until our page was complete!

Grab Your Download

Ready to work on beginning subtraction within 10? Grab your copy of the spring subtraction ten frame printables by clicking the button below!

Then, if you feel like more number practice, check out our Number Formation Pack in our shop!

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5 Comments

  1. I cannot find the downloaded button…HELP!!

  2. Can you help me find the download button?

    Thank you!

  3. I purchased a product from this website today, but the download button didn’t show up, and I never received the email. Can you help me please?

    1. Hi Fiona!

      I’m so sorry that you didn’t receive the download link right away. I just resent it to your email inbox.

      If you don’t see the message there, could you please check your spam folder in case the system accidentally misfiled it?

      And if it’s still not there, send me a quick email at malia@www.playdoughtoplato.com and I’ll come up with a Plan C. 🙂

      Fingers crossed,

      Malia

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