Mixed Subtraction with Pets — Grade 1

Each row could ask one of two things, so the child reads before solving: take this number from the cats, dogs and a rabbit and find what's left, or here is what's left — find what was taken. The variety is the point; it rehearses both directions of within-twenty subtraction on one page, which is exactly the Grade 1 practice that builds confidence with the whole start-change-result relationship. The pets stay pictured and the numbers small, so a child can always count to be certain.

Mixed subtraction within twenty rehearses the inverse relationship between adding and taking away by putting both directions in front of a child at once. That flexibility — knowing a fact and its partner — is core Grade 1 work, and the pictured pets keep each small problem checkable while the variety keeps the child engaged.

Children who like pets enjoy not knowing which question is coming next, and it keeps a small group thinking. When this feels easy, try mixed subtraction with post office, or mixed subtraction with things that fly. You can also browse every subtraction worksheet or the whole pets collection for grade 1 — each sheet prints cleanly in black and white or plays online for free.