Adding Up: Grade 1 Word Problems Within 20
Practice solving real-world addition word problems by adding to, putting together, and comparing amounts using numbers within 20 to build fact fluency.
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Three different problem sets — same skill, same layout, fresh numbers.
Preview — Set A
Read each story problem carefully and write the answer on the line.
- 1.Sam has 3 red apples and 5 green apples. How many apples does Sam have in all?
- 2.There are 6 ducks in a pond. Then 4 more ducks swim over. How many ducks are in the pond now?
- 3.Lily picked 7 flowers. Her friend gave her 2 more flowers. How many flowers does Lily have now?
- 4.There are 8 children on the playground. Then 5 more children come out to play. How many children are on the playground now?
- 5.A basket has 9 oranges and 4 bananas. How many pieces of fruit are in the basket altogether?
- 6.Tom has 6 toy cars. His dad gives him 7 more. How many toy cars does Tom have in all?
- 7.There are 5 birds sitting in a tree. Then 8 more birds fly over and land in the tree. How many birds are in the tree now?
- 8.Maya read 4 books last week and 9 books this week. How many books did she read in all?
- 9.There are 7 boys and 6 girls at a birthday party. How many children are at the party in all?
- 10.Jake has 10 stickers. His teacher gives him 3 more stickers. How many stickers does Jake have now?
- 11.There are 8 frogs on a log and 7 frogs in the water. How many frogs are there altogether?
- 12.A bag has 6 red marbles and 9 blue marbles. How many marbles are in the bag in all?
- 13.Ana has 5 crayons. She finds 10 more crayons in her desk. How many crayons does Ana have now?
- 14.There were 9 cookies on a plate. Mom put 6 more cookies on the plate. How many cookies are on the plate now?
- 15.Ben caught 8 fireflies in a jar. Then he caught 8 more. How many fireflies does Ben have in all?
- 16.There are 7 students working at tables and 9 students on the rug. How many students are there in all?
- 17.Rosa has 10 building blocks. She gets 7 more blocks for her birthday. How many blocks does Rosa have now?
- 18.There are 9 dogs at the park in the morning. Then 9 more dogs arrive. How many dogs are at the park now?
- 19.A library shelf has 10 picture books and 8 chapter books. How many books are on the shelf in all?
- 20.Carlos scored 9 points in the first game and 9 points in the second game. How many points did he score in all?
- 21.There are 10 ladybugs on a leaf and 9 ladybugs on a flower. How many ladybugs are there altogether?
- 22.Zoe has 10 pennies in her piggy bank. Her grandma gives her 10 more pennies. How many pennies does Zoe have in all?
What this worksheet covers
This is a 22-problem word problems for grade 1 addition, printed in black and white with the key on page two. Within that, 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. Problems 8 and 15, for instance, are "Maya read 4 books last week and 9 books this week. How many…" and "Ben caught 8 fireflies in a jar. Then he caught 8 more. How…". Common Core 1.OA.1 is the slot this page fills.
Skills practised
At grade 1, addition is about fact fluency within 20, three addends, and two-digit plus one-digit numbers, and this sheet takes one slice of that. Specifically, the problems practise adding Up: Grade 1 Word Problems Within 20. Working the page asks a student to read a situation and choose an operation before computing. 21 different answers appear across the 22 problems, so a student cannot copy one result down the page.
About the word problems format
The 22 story problems each get a full line and an answer rule; problem 8, "Maya read 4 books last week and 9 books this week. How many…" is one, and the answer key writes the unit with every answer. Deciding that a situation calls for addition is a different skill from adding, and it needs its own practice.
Set A, Set B and Set C
Set A is the sheet as it was first published on MathSheetLab, and Sets B and C were derived from it problem by problem: each number became a slot redrawn with the same shape, and every answer was recomputed exactly. Where Set A's problem 12 is "A bag has 6 red marbles and 9 blue marbles. How many…", Set B's is "A farm had 10 eggs and sold 3 of them at the market. How…".
22 story problem(s) drawn from the /custom word-problem bank (grade 0 ranges, ops add/sub) — parameters inferred from 1.OA.1
How to use this worksheet
Sit alongside for this addition word problems. At grade 1 the useful information is not the score but which of the 22 problems drew a pause. Keep the key face down until all 22 problems are finished, then go through the misses together rather than only totalling the score.
One mistake to watch for
Counting all instead of counting on: for 7 + 3 the student starts again at one. On this grade 1 word problems, problem 15 ("Ben caught 8 fireflies in a jar. Then he caught 8 more. How…") 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
- Mixed Review — Adding Three Numbers — Grade 1 Word Problems, 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.
- Grade 2 Addition Word Problems — grade 2, 8 problems
Word Problems sheets in other grade 1 topics
Print as many copies of this grade 1 addition word problems as you need; Sets A, B and C and their keys are six separate PDFs, all free.