Find the Missing Number — Shapes — Grade 1

Find what was taken away — that is the task on every row. The starting group of circles, squares and a triangle and the number left are given; the child fills in how many went. This change-unknown form asks for a little more thought than plain subtraction, because the child works back from the result, and that is exactly the Grade 1 growth it is for. Within-twenty amounts keep it grounded in counting the shapes, so even the harder reasoning stays something a child can check by hand.

The missing-number form rehearses inverse thinking: if a group became this many, what was removed? A Grade 1 child answers by counting up or by knowing the take-away that fits, both of which strengthen the link between adding and subtracting. Within-twenty amounts and pictured shapes keep the strategy concrete rather than abstract.

Children who like shapes 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 space, or find the missing number with valentine pictures (black & white). You can also browse every subtraction worksheet or the whole shapes collection for grade 1 — each sheet prints cleanly in black and white or plays online for free.