Adding Three Numbers — Grade 1 Word Problems
Practice solving real-world addition problems by combining three whole numbers. Build fluency with sums up to 20 using everyday situations with objects and animals.
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Three different problem sets — same skill, same layout, fresh numbers.
Preview — Set A
Read each story problem and add the three numbers to find the answer.
- 1.Mia has 3 red balloons, 4 blue balloons, and 5 yellow balloons. How many balloons does she have in all?
- 2.There are 2 dogs, 6 cats, and 4 rabbits at the pet store. How many animals are there in all?
- 3.Jake picked 5 apples, 3 oranges, and 4 bananas from the fruit stand. How many pieces of fruit did he pick in all?
- 4.On Monday, Sam read 4 pages. On Tuesday, he read 7 pages. On Wednesday, he read 3 pages. How many pages did Sam read in all?
- 5.There are 6 children on the swings, 5 children on the slide, and 2 children on the seesaw. How many children are on the playground in all?
- 6.Lily put 4 stickers on her notebook, 3 stickers on her folder, and 6 stickers on her backpack. How many stickers did she use in all?
- 7.A farmer has 5 cows, 4 pigs, and 7 chickens. How many farm animals does the farmer have in all?
- 8.Tom has 2 toy cars, 8 toy trucks, and 4 toy trains. How many toys does Tom have in all?
- 9.Emma baked 6 chocolate cookies, 5 vanilla cookies, and 3 peanut butter cookies. How many cookies did she bake in all?
- 10.There are 4 butterflies on a flower, 3 bees in the garden, and 5 ladybugs on a leaf. How many insects and bugs are there in all?
- 11.Carlos scored 7 points in the first game, 4 points in the second game, and 5 points in the third game. How many points did he score in all?
- 12.A bookshelf has 3 chapter books, 6 picture books, and 4 comic books. How many books are on the shelf in all?
- 13.Anna found 5 shells on Monday, 3 shells on Tuesday, and 8 shells on Wednesday. How many shells did she find in all?
- 14.There are 2 red fish, 7 blue fish, and 4 orange fish in the tank. How many fish are in the tank in all?
- 15.Ben put 6 grapes, 4 strawberries, and 3 blueberries in his bowl. How many pieces of fruit are in his bowl in all?
- 16.There are 5 birds in a tree, 6 birds on a fence, and 4 birds on the ground. How many birds are there in all?
- 17.Maya drew 3 stars, 8 hearts, and 5 circles. How many shapes did she draw in all?
- 18.A store has 4 red hats, 3 blue hats, and 6 green hats. How many hats does the store have in all?
- 19.Leo has 5 pennies in his pocket, 7 pennies in his piggy bank, and 3 pennies on his desk. How many pennies does he have in all?
- 20.There are 4 boys and 6 girls playing soccer, and 5 children watching. How many children are there in all?
- 21.Sophie planted 3 rose bushes, 4 sunflower plants, and 5 tulip plants in her garden. How many plants did she plant in all?
- 22.A box has 6 crayons, 5 markers, and 4 colored pencils. How many art supplies are in the box in all?
What this worksheet covers
22 addition problems fill this mixed review page; problem 8 asks "Tom has 2 toy cars, 8 toy trucks, and 4 toy trains. How…", and the sheet stays at that level throughout. The problems are written as situations that have to be translated before they can be calculated and answers carry units, and a number without its unit is only half an answer. Further down, problem 15 asks "Ben put 6 grapes, 4 strawberries, and 3 blueberries in his…". Common Core 1.OA.2 is the slot this page fills.
Skills practised
The grade 1 addition sequence covers fact fluency within 20, three addends, and two-digit plus one-digit numbers; this page sits inside it. The skill on the page: adding Three Numbers. Working the page asks a student to read a situation and choose an operation before computing.
About the mixed review format
The 22 problems are deliberately assorted — problem 8, "Tom has 2 toy cars, 8 toy trucks, and 4 toy trains. How…" is followed by something of another shape — so the student has to read each one rather than run the last method again. Alternating shapes stops a student from running one procedure on autopilot down the page.
Set A, Set B and Set C
Set A is the original MathSheetLab worksheet; Sets B and C keep its structure and redraw the numbers, with each answer recomputed rather than copied. Where Set A's problem 12 is "A bookshelf has 3 chapter books, 6 picture books, and 4…", Set B's is "On Monday, Grace read 6 pages. On Tuesday, Grace read 2…".
22 story problem(s) drawn from the 1.OA.2 context family (three-addend stories within 20) — parameters inferred from the standard and grade
How to use this worksheet
Five focused minutes beats twenty distracted ones at grade 1. Fold this mixed review in half, do one part of the 22 problems today and the rest tomorrow, and let the student use fingers or counters if they want them. Date the mixed review before filing it. Set C from six weeks later is the cheapest evidence you have that the addition stuck.
One mistake to watch for
Counting all instead of counting on: for 7 + 3 the student starts again at one. On this grade 1 mixed review, problem 15 ("Ben put 6 grapes, 4 strawberries, and 3 blueberries in his…") is the kind of item where it shows.
Cardinality has not fully transferred — the child does not yet trust that "seven" names the whole set and can be the starting point.
Cover the first set and label it with the numeral; when it cannot be counted, counting on is the only option left.
Other grade 1 addition formats
The same skill in the other formats available at this grade.
- Drill — Grade 1 Addition Practice, 18 problems
- Timed Drill — Grade 1 Addition Timed Drill, 60 problems
- Missing Number — Grade 1 Addition Missing Number, 24 problems
- Word Problems — Adding Up: Grade 1 Word Problems Within 20, 22 problems
- Vertical Format — 1.NBT.4 — Adding Within 100: Two-Digit & One-Digit Numbers, 22 problems
A step either side
The same format one grade down and one grade up — the easier sheet is often the faster fix when this one is not landing.
- Kindergarten Addition Mixed Review — kindergarten, 20 problems
- Grade 2 Addition Mixed Review — grade 2, 24 problems
Mixed Review sheets in other grade 1 topics
Six PDFs, no sign-up: three versions of this grade 1 addition mixed review and three answer keys, each 22 problems long.