Find the Missing Number — Zoo Animals — Grade 1

On each row of this Grade 1 worksheet a group of lions, zebras and a giraffe is shown, some are taken away, and the number left is given — the child works out how many went away. It is the missing-number side of subtraction: instead of being told what to take, the child sees the start and the result and finds the part in between. Counting up from what's left to the starting group is the natural way in, all kept within twenty, and the pictured zoo animals mean a child can always check the missing number by counting rather than guessing it.

Asking for the taken-away amount rather than the result keeps a child from running a page on autopilot — each row needs real thought about the missing middle. That is precisely why change-unknown problems matter at Grade 1, and why keeping them within twenty is important: the thinking is the work, so the numbers stay small enough to verify by counting the zoo animals.

Children who like zoo animals 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 fourth of july things, or find the missing number with beach things. You can also browse every subtraction worksheet or the whole zoo animals collection for grade 1 — each sheet prints cleanly in black and white or plays online for free.