Six games for practicing subtraction facts to 20, each on its own page with its rules at the top. Page 1, Rocket to the Moon, is a board game for 2 to 4 players: roll a die, move, and say the answer on the space; a partner checks it with the answer key. Page 2, Race to the Top, needs two dice and crayons: take the smaller number from the bigger, color a box over the answer from 0 to 5, and see which answer reaches the top first. Page 3, Spin and Subtract, has two paper clip spinners (11 to 16 and 3 to 8) and a board where each answer shows up as often as it can be spun; players color answers and try for four in a row. Page 4, Race to Zero, is a record sheet: both players start at 20, roll and take away, and write every number sentence until one lands on 0 exactly. Page 5 is Subtraction Memory: 10 facts and their 10 answers, no two facts with the same answer. Page 6 is 20 cards with addition and subtraction mixed for Bigger Answer Wins, a card game like War.
Teach one game at a time to the whole class, playing against the class on the board, then use it at a math center for the week. Print the boards on card stock, or put them in sheet protectors and use dry-erase markers. Race to Zero makes a good warm-up: the written number sentences show you who is subtracting and who is counting back by ones. Keep each card game in a zip bag with its rules page; the answer keys let partners check each other.
Play Race to Zero with any die: start at 20 and take turns taking away what you roll. Ask your child to say how they subtracted: "13 take away 5: take 3 to get to 10, then 2 more is 8." Play Subtraction Memory face up first, then face down.
This pack supports the following Common Core State Standards for Mathematics:
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Six printable subtraction games for 1st grade, for practicing facts to 20 with a partner or a small group. Rocket to the Moon is a board game: roll a die, move, and say the answer on your space. In Race to the Top, students roll two dice, take the smaller number from the bigger and color a box over the answer. Spin and Subtract uses two paper clip spinners and a four-in-a-row board. Race to Zero starts at 20: roll, take away and write each number sentence until you land on 0. Subtraction Memory matches facts to their answers, and Bigger Answer Wins is a card game like War with addition and subtraction mixed. Every game has its rules on the page and comes in color and in black and white. Answer keys for the board game and the cards.
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