This week, Year Two have been learning to subtract through ten using their knowledge of number bonds to ten. We used a bus story to help us picture the maths:
“There were 12 children on the buses. Then 4 got off, so 8 were left.”
We repeated this idea to explore 12 − 5, 12 − 6, and 12 − 7 with the children partitioning the number being subtracted:
subtract to get to 10, then subtract the rest.
To deepen understanding, the children also used tens frames to model the same number stories, showing 12, removing counters and checking how many were left. This helped them clearly see how subtraction through ten works.
💡 How to Help at Home
-
Practise number bonds to 10 (e.g., 6 and 4, 7 and 3).
-
Use small objects (pasta, buttons, Lego) to model stories like “12 take away 5”.
-
Ask your child to explain how they got to 10 first before finishing the subtraction.
-
Try quick oral questions: “If you have 12 and take away 3, how many to get to 10? What’s left?”