Subtraction with Zoo Animals — Kindergarten

Each row of this kindergarten worksheet shows a group of lions, zebras and a giraffe and asks the child to cross some of them out, then write how many are left. Crossing-out is the heart of it: the child physically removes the zoo animals that go away and counts the ones that remain, so subtraction is something they do with their hands before it is ever a written symbol. The pictures carry the whole problem, so a child who cannot yet read an equation can still solve every line.

Crossing out is a small action with a big idea behind it: a quantity can be made smaller, and we can say exactly how much is left. Doing it with pictured zoo animals keeps the idea concrete and self-checking, which is precisely what take-away subtraction should be at five and six — seen and done, not memorised.

Children who enjoy zoo animals take to crossing out quickly, and it works as a calm hands-on task or a whole-class action on the board. When this feels easy, take some away in subtraction with fourth of july things, or try subtraction with beach things. You can also browse every subtraction worksheet or the whole zoo animals collection for kindergarten — each sheet prints cleanly in black and white or plays online for free.