Taking Away Subtracting
Part of the Math for Young Minds curriculum — designed for neurodivergent students, grounded in real-world examples.
📋 Session plan (for teachers)
Session 6 — Taking away (subtracting)
Kindergarten · Math for Young Minds Total time: ~18 minutes Common Core: K.OA.A.1, K.OA.A.5 Today's idea: When we take away from a group, we have fewer left.
What students will be able to do
By the end of this session, the student can:
- Take some away from a group and find what's left.
- Say how many are left after taking some away.
- Read and write a simple subtraction sentence like 5 − 2 = 3.
Materials
- About 10 counters per pair (paper "cookies," cereal pieces, or cubes)
- Worksheet (one per student)
- Pencil
Substitution: No cubes? Use anything you have ~10 of: dry pasta, buttons, pebbles, paper scraps. Avoid tiny or sharp things.
New words
| Word | Meaning we use in class |
|---|---|
| subtract / take away | Remove some from a group. |
| minus / − | The sign for subtracting — we read it as "minus." |
| left | What's still there after we take some away. |
That's the entire vocabulary for today. No other terms.
Heads-up — common confusions
- Mixing up + and −. They look kind of similar. Slow down. Point at the sign and name it: "This is minus. It means take away."
- Counting up instead of down. When taking away, kids sometimes keep counting forward. Gently restart: "We start with what we have, then take some away."
- Forgetting that 5 − 0 = 5. Taking nothing away leaves it all. Show it with your hands — touch nothing, count what's still there.
- "Subtracting makes things bigger." It makes them smaller — or stays the same if we take 0. Say this out loud when you see it.
Plan
1 · Hello & today's idea — 2 min
"Today we're going to take away. That means we start with some things, then we take some out. Then we see how many are left."
Hold up 4 fingers. Slowly bend 1 down.
"I had four. I took one away. How many are left?" Wait. *"Three."*
Say it again, pointing at the air: "Four take away one is three."
2 · Hands-on explore — 5 min
Hand each pair their counters. Tell them these are pretend cookies.
"Put 5 cookies in front of you. Touch each one. One, two, three, four, five."
Walk around. Check they have five.
"Now eat two. Push two cookies away from your pile. Pretend — yum, yum."
"How many are left? Point and count what's still in your pile."
Watch for:
- Pulling cookies away (not adding more).
- Counting the ones that are left, not the ones taken.
- Saying the last number as the answer.
If a child counts up instead of down, kneel beside them. Point at the pile. "These are left. Count just these."
Try one more together: start with 6, take away 1.
3 · Connect to the math — 3 min
Go to the board. Draw 5 little circles.
"Here are 5 cookies. Watch — I'm going to take 2 away."
Cross out 2 circles with a big X.
"How many are left?" Wait. *"Three."*
Write under it, slowly: 5 − 2 = 3
Point at the minus sign.
"This little line is minus. It means take away. We read it: five minus two equals three."
Say it together. Twice.
"Subtracting makes the number smaller — because we took some away."
4 · Practice with support — 5 min
Pass out the worksheet.
Problem 1 — together.
"You have 5 cookies. You eat 2. How many are left?"
Do it together with counters and on the board. Answer: 3. Write 5 − 2 = 3.
Problem 2 — try it yourself.
"8 birds on a wire. 3 fly away. How many are left?"
Let students use counters. Walk around. Answer: 5.
Problem 3 — try it yourself.
"6 − 0 = ? What happens when we take away zero?"
This one is tricky. Show it: put 6 counters down. Take nothing away. Count what's left. Answer: 6.
"Taking away zero means we didn't take any. They're all still there."
Problem 4 — stretch.
"Make up your own taking-away story. Tell a grown-up at home tonight."
5 · What we did + Try at home — 2 min
"Today you learned how to take away. You start with a group, take some out, and count what's left. The little line — minus — means take away."
Hold up 3 fingers. Bend 1 down. "Three minus one is…" Wait. "Two. You did it."
Wave the take-home note.
"Tonight, start with a small pile — raisins, toys, leaves, grapes. Take some away. Count what's left. Tell someone in your family the number."
Observation rubric — what to notice in this session
Use this during the session, not as a test. One observation per student is plenty.
| Where the student is | What you'd see |
|---|---|
| Developing | Mixes up + and −, counts up instead of down, or adds more instead of taking away. Needs your hand to push counters aside. |
| Using | Takes the right number away, counts what's left, and says the answer. Can read 5 − 2 = 3 out loud. |
| Extending | Solves it without counters. Makes up their own taking-away stories. Gets that 6 − 0 = 6 right away. |
No fail state. "Developing" today is "using" next week.
What's next (Session 7)
In Session 7 — Shapes around me, we go on a shape hunt around the room — circles, squares, triangles, rectangles.
✏️ Worksheet (for students)
Math for Young Minds · Kindergarten
6 · Taking away (subtracting)
[ Hello ] → [ Explore ] → [ Connect ] → [ Practice ← we are here ] → [ Try at home ]
My name: _____________________________
Today
Start with some. Take some away. Count what is left.
The sign − means minus (take away).
We did this together
🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 ← 5 cookies
🍪 🍪 ❌ ❌ ← eat 2
🍪 🍪 🍪 ← 3 left
5 − 2 = 3
Problem 1 — together
You have 5 cookies. You eat 2. How many are left?
🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪
Cross out 2. Count what is left.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
5 − 2 = ____
Circle the answer:
┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐
│ 1 │ │ 2 │ │ 3 │ │ 4 │ │ 5 │
└──────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘
Problem 2 — on your own
8 birds on a wire. 3 fly away. How many are left?
🐦 🐦 🐦 🐦 🐦 🐦 🐦 🐦
Cross out 3.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
8 − 3 = ____
Circle the answer:
┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐
│ 3 │ │ 4 │ │ 5 │ │ 6 │ │ 7 │ │ 8 │
└──────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘
Problem 3 — on your own
6 − 0 = ?
You take away zero. Nothing leaves!
🍇 🍇 🍇 🍇 🍇 🍇
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
6 − 0 = ____
Circle the answer:
┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐
│ 1 │ │ 2 │ │ 3 │ │ 4 │ │ 5 │ │ 6 │
└──────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘
Problem 4 — stretch
Make up your own taking-away story. Tell a grown-up at home.
Draw your story here:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ Start with: _____ │
│ │
│ Take away: _____ │
│ │
│ Left: _____ │
│ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
____ − ____ = ____
Today's words
| word | what it means |
|---|---|
| subtract / take away | remove some from a group |
| minus − | the sign for subtracting — say "minus" |
| left | what is still there after we take some away |
🏠 Try at home tonight
Start with a small pile of snacks or toys. Take some away. How many are left?
- 🍇 6 raisins on a napkin — eat some
- 🧸 5 toys on the floor — put 2 in the bin
- 🍂 8 leaves in a pile — blow some away
- 🍇 7 grapes — share some with a sibling
Start with some. Take some away. Count what is left.
🏠 Family guide (for parents)
Math for Young Minds · Kindergarten · Session 6
Tonight: take some away and see what's left
What your child did today
In class today, we practiced taking away — also called subtracting.
We used small piles of counters (paper cookies and cubes) to act out everyday moments: eating snacks, birds flying away, leaves blowing off a pile.
The big idea: when you start with a group and take some away, you have fewer left.
We also met the minus sign (−) and read our first subtraction sentences out loud, like "five minus two equals three."
Why this matters
Taking away is the partner to adding. Together, these two ideas — putting together and taking apart — are what numbers do in the world. We're not in a rush. Right now, the win is your child seeing that math matches real life: you had some, some are gone, some are left.
🏠 Try this tonight (1 minute)
Start with a small pile of snacks or toys. Take some away. Ask how many are left.
| Easy starters |
|---|
| 6 raisins on a napkin — eat some |
| 5 toys on the floor — put 2 in the bin |
| 8 leaves in a pile — blow some away |
| 7 grapes — share some with a sibling |
The script:
"We have 6 raisins. I'm going to eat 2. How many are left?"
Let them touch and count what's still there. Then try saying it the math way together:
"Six minus two equals four."
If you want, do it one more time with a different number. That's it.
Words your child is learning
- Subtract / take away — remove some from a group
- Minus (−) — the sign for subtracting; we read it as "minus"
- Left — what's still there after we take some away
That's the whole list for today.
If your child says…
"This is easy."
Wonderful. Try a tricky one: "What's 6 minus 0?" Taking away zero means nothing leaves — so you still have 6. That one surprises a lot of kids and gets them thinking.
"This is hard."
That's okay. Two things help. First, slow down and name the signs out loud — plus and minus look alike and get mixed up. Second, count down as you take things away, not up. Move each item aside as you say the number.
"I don't want to."
No problem. Try again tomorrow with a snack they love. Eat one. Ask "how many are left?" Math at this age should feel like noticing, not working.
What's next
In Session 7, "Shapes around me," we'll go on a shape hunt around the room — circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles.
Thanks for taking a minute tonight. These small moments are where math lives.
— Math for Young Minds
🔑 Cheat sheet (visual)
➖ Take away = what's left
The big idea
🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 → 🍪 🍪 🍪 😋 🍪🍪
start with 5 3 left ate 2
Start. Take some away. Count what's left.
How to read the sign
5 − 2 = 3
↑ ↑ ↑ ↑
start "minus" take what's
➖ away left
➕ means put together ➖ means take away
Slow down. Look at the sign.
🍪 Cookies: 5 − 2 = 3
🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪
✋ take 2 away
🍪 🍪 🍪 ❌ ❌
1 2 3
3 left.
🐦 Birds: 8 − 3 = 5
🐦 🐦 🐦 🐦 🐦 🐦 🐦 🐦
↑ ↑ ↑
fly away 💨
🐦 🐦 🐦 🐦 🐦
1 2 3 4 5
5 left.
⭐ Taking away zero: 6 − 0 = 6
🍇 🍇 🍇 🍇 🍇 🍇 → 🍇 🍇 🍇 🍇 🍇 🍇
start with 6 took none
still 6!
Take nothing away → you keep it all.
The Big Rules
✅ Start with the big number. ✅ Take some away. ✅ Count what's left. ✅ Taking 0 away → it all stays.
❌ Don't mix up ➕ and ➖. ❌ Don't count up when taking away — count what's left. ❌ Taking away does not make it bigger.
🌟 Try in your head
🍓 🍓 🍓 🍓 You have 4 strawberries.
You eat 1.
How many left?
. . .
🍓 🍓 🍓 → 3 left