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Lesson Plan

What's the Difference?

Give your students a great basis in mathematics with this lesson that has them use a number line to find differences for basic subtraction facts.
Grade:
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Learning Objectives

Students will be able to count back to find the difference.

Introduction

(5 minutes)
  • Write large numbers 1 through 10 on construction paper and give 10 students one number to hold in front of the class.
  • Write the subtraction sentence "7 - 5" on the board.
  • Ask the student who is holding the number 7 to hold it up high.
  • Then ask students which direction should we go to subtract 5.
  • Once students agree to count back, ask the child holding the number 6 to step forward.
  • Next ask the student holding the number 5 to step forward. Continue these steps until 5 students have stepped forward.
  • Write "2" to complete the subtraction sentence "7 - 5= 2."
  • Tell students that today they're going to learn about counting back to find the difference.