Kindergarten Subtraction Drill
Kindergarten subtraction drill sheet: 20 problems on subtraction within 5, subtraction within 10.
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Three different problem sets — same skill, same layout, fresh numbers.
Preview — Set A
Solve each problem. Show your work in the space provided.
- 1.3 - 1 =
- 2.6 - 4 =
- 3.1 - 1 =
- 4.3 - 3 =
- 5.4 - 2 =
- 6.7 - 5 =
- 7.4 - 4 =
- 8.6 - 3 =
- 9.2 - 2 =
- 10.2 - 1 =
- 11.3 - 2 =
- 12.6 - 2 =
- 13.5 - 2 =
- 14.10 - 2 =
- 15.5 - 1 =
- 16.9 - 2 =
- 17.4 - 1 =
- 18.6 - 6 =
- 19.5 - 3 =
- 20.9 - 9 =
What this worksheet covers
This is a 20-problem drill for kindergarten subtraction, printed in black and white with the key on page two. Within that, one of the twenty column problems need regrouping and the rest do not, so the two cases are mixed rather than blocked and the numbers run as high as 10. Problems 7 and 14, for instance, are "4 - 4" and "10 - 2". The skill maps to Common Core K.OA.5.
Skills practised
The kindergarten subtraction sequence covers taking away within 5 and within 10, including taking from ten; this page sits inside it. The skills on the page: subtraction within 5 and subtraction within 10. Concretely, the sheet tests whether a student can regroup past ten rather than counting up one at a time. Seven different answers appear across the twenty problems, so a student cannot copy one result down the page.
About the drill format
A drill is straight practice: 20 problems of the same kind, laid out across the page with working space under each — problem 7, "4 - 4" is typical of the whole page. A page of same-shaped differences is where a borrowing method either settles or shows its cracks.
Set A, Set B and Set C
All three sets are produced by the site's deterministic generator from a fixed seed, so they are the same every time the site is built and the answer keys are exact. Where Set A's problem 11 is "3 - 2", Set B's is "2 - 1".
How to use this worksheet
Five focused minutes beats twenty distracted ones at kindergarten. Fold this drill in half, do one part of the twenty problems today and the rest tomorrow, and let the student use fingers or counters if they want them. If more than a third of the twenty problems come back wrong, stop and step back a grade in subtraction rather than assigning Set B.
One mistake to watch for
Subtraction facts are recomputed by counting back one at a time. Problem 14 on this kindergarten drill page, "10 - 2", is where to look for it.
The relationship to addition has not been made explicit, so 13 − 8 is not being read as "8 plus what is 13".
Practise fact families as a unit, four equations at a time, and give unknown-addend problems alongside the subtraction ones.
Other kindergarten subtraction formats
The same skill in the other formats available at this grade.
- Timed Drill — Kindergarten Subtraction Timed Drill, 50 problems
- Missing Number — Kindergarten Subtraction Missing Number, 20 problems
- Mixed Review — Kindergarten Subtraction Mixed Review, 20 problems
- Vertical Format — Kindergarten Subtraction Vertical Format, 16 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.
- Subtracting Multiples of 10 — Grade 1 Practice — grade 1, 22 problems
Drill sheets in other kindergarten topics
Print as many copies of this kindergarten subtraction drill as you need; Sets A, B and C and their keys are six separate PDFs, all free.