Ink-saving
White cards with coloured borders and the animals in colour. For every animal rescued, your child colours in a star.
Download PDFAddition and subtraction to 10
Adding and subtracting within 10 is where calculating begins, at the start of Year 1 in the UK and Grade 1 in the US. This free worksheet practises both with 32 problems: additions like 4 + 3 and subtractions like 9 − 5, with every answer up to 10. Eight animals are stuck in the vines, and every right answer helps to set them free. Print it as a PDF, no sign-up needed.
Colouring version
Black and white for any printer. Once an animal is rescued, your child gets to colour it in.
Download PDFFree for home and the classroom. Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0, so feel free to print, copy and pass it on, just don't sell it. If you share the sheet online, please link to this page. CC BY-NC 4.0
How the worksheet works
- Each of the eight animals has three problems to work out and one gate problem, just like in the game: out of three answers, your child circles the right one.
- When all four problems are right, the animal is rescued: in the ink-saving version your child colours in its star, in the colouring version the whole animal.
- There is no answer key on purpose: check the answers together, or let your child check with the inverse calculation (8 − 3 = 5, so 5 + 3 = 8).
Tricks for adding and subtracting to 10
Number bonds to 10
10 = 7 + 310 = 6 + 4The pairs that make 10 are the most important building block: which two numbers add up to 10?
Count on from the bigger number
2 + 7 = 7 + 2 = 9Swap the numbers and start with the big one: from 7 it is only two more steps.
Doubles
3 + 3 = 64 + 4 = 85 + 5 = 10Doubles stick quickly and help with their neighbours: 4 + 5 is 4 + 4 and one more.
Subtract by counting up
9 − 5 = 4, because 5 + 4 = 9From 5 to 9 is 4 steps. That turns every subtraction into an addition.
Use 5 as a stepping stone
5 + 3 = 88 − 3 = 5Like the fingers on one hand: every number up to 10 can be seen as “5 and some more”.
Fact families
6 + 2 = 88 − 2 = 6One fact, two directions. If you know one, you know the other.
Common mistakes
- 6 + 3 = 8↔6 + 3 = 9
When counting on, the starting number gets counted too.
What helps: Start at 6 and only say “7” on the first step.
- 9 − 4 = 6↔9 − 4 = 5
When counting back, the answer ends up one step off.
What helps: Check with the addition: 5 + 4 = 9.
- 1, 2, 3, …
Every problem gets counted on the fingers from 1.
What helps: Learn the number bonds to 10 and the doubles by heart, then lots of sums work without counting.
For teachers
The sheet works well as practice in the first months of Year 1 / Grade 1, as homework or for early finishers. The colouring version prints on any black-and-white photocopier, and the ink-saving version needs very little colour.
Rather practise with a game?
In Number Jungle your child runs through the jungle and dashes through the gate with the right answer. The same problems, matched to their school year, with no ads and offline. Free for Android, iPhone and iPad.
More about the game →FAQ
Which year group is this worksheet for?
Year 1 in the UK and Grade 1 in the US, as soon as adding and subtracting within 10 comes up, usually in the first term. It is also good for revision before moving on to 20.
Is the worksheet really free?
Yes. It is free, with no sign-up and no email address. You may print and copy it for home and for the classroom.
Is there an answer key?
No, on purpose. The inverse calculation is a good check: if your child worked out 8 − 3 = 5, they can check it with 5 + 3 = 8. For the gate problems, the right answer is one of the choices anyway.
What is the difference between the two versions?
The ink-saving version has animals in colour and a star to colour in. The colouring version is completely black and white, and the rescued animal itself gets coloured in.
How can my child keep practising addition and subtraction to 10?
Short, frequent practice helps most. For example with the free game Number Jungle: facts that are still wobbly come up more often until they stick.