Missing Number Equations to 10

This Grade 1 page holds twelve equations that all stay within 10, and in each one an empty box stands where a number should be. Sometimes it sits at the end, sometimes at the front, sometimes in the middle: 4 plus a box equals 9, or a box minus 2 equals 5. Additions and subtractions are mixed together throughout. The child works out what belongs in the box mentally and writes it — one number per problem, twelve small pieces of detective work.

Small numbers make this a genuinely gentle introduction to a difficult idea. Missing-number work asks a child to think backwards, and if the arithmetic is demanding at the same time, the reasoning gets buried under the calculation. Within 10 the facts are usually already known, so all the effort lands where it belongs — on understanding what the sentence is actually asking. It also makes an unusually good partner activity: two children and one page produce far more talk than either would generate alone, because an empty box invites a guess and then a check.

The worksheet prints free as a PDF and slots neatly into small-group time. Children who find the boxes puzzling can meet the same idea drawn as a picture on number bonds within 10, and once the format feels familiar, missing number equations to 20 is the next rung on the ladder.