Find the Missing Number — Fruits — Grade 1

The unknown here is the amount removed, not the answer. A group of apples, bananas and a pear is pictured, the number left is written, and the child finds how many were taken away to get there. That is change-unknown subtraction — a step beyond plain take-away, because the child reasons about the missing middle. Kept within twenty, it leans on counting up and on knowing which take-away makes the result, and the pictured fruit keep that reasoning anchored to something a child can count.

Change-unknown subtraction is harder than plain take-away precisely because the answer is the move, not the result — and that extra reasoning is the Grade 1 point. Keeping the numbers within twenty lets a child meet that challenge with strategies they have, counting up from the fruit that remain to the group they started with.

Children who like fruits take to the puzzle of working backward, and it suits a child ready for a little more than plain take-away. When this feels easy, try find the missing number with furniture, or find the missing number with community helpers. You can also browse every subtraction worksheet or the whole fruit collection for grade 1 — each sheet prints cleanly in black and white or plays online for free.