Find the Missing Number — Toys — Grade 1

Here a child meets the missing-number form of subtraction: a group of balls, blocks and a teddy, the amount remaining, and a blank for how many were removed. Solving it means counting up from what's left to the start, or finding the take-away that fits — reasoning about subtraction rather than just performing it. The pictured toys and the within-twenty range keep the thinking concrete and self-checkable, so a Grade 1 child can confirm the missing number by counting whenever they are unsure.

Finding the missing part of a subtraction — how many were taken to reach the result — is a genuine step up from plain take-away, and it is core Grade 1 work. It asks a child to relate subtraction to its inverse, working backward from the result, and keeping the numbers within twenty means they can always check by counting up from what's left.

Children who like toys 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 trees, or find the missing number with accessories. You can also browse every subtraction worksheet or the whole toys collection for grade 1 — each sheet prints cleanly in black and white or plays online for free.