I once read that subtraction is the most difficult operation for kids to wrap their minds around.  It is even considered to be more cognitively challenging than division. 

It is no surprise then that kids often struggle with subtraction.  The traditional subtraction algorithm is often an area where kids make a lot of mistakes.  When we use it we are taking the place value out of the numbers. This can be really confusing!  It is no wonder then that many students turn subtraction problems into addition problems. This makes them a lot easier to solve.  Many students are able to execute this strategy more successfully than the standard algorithm.  Let me show you how! 

When we are subtracting we are really asking, “How big is the space between these two numbers?”  We want to know the difference between the two. Let us consider 163-47.

We start with the lower of the two numbers and add up to the closest landmark number. 

Then from there we jump to the next landmark number.  Then from there we can jump easily to the end.

If we work with bigger numbers, the strategy is the same.  We make our way from landmark number to landmark number, keeping track of the size of our jumps as we go.

Once we know the size of all of our jumps, we add them together to get the difference between one number and the other.  

When using the standard algorithm we are often telling students to start with the bigger number.  When using this strategy, however, we count up from the smaller number. A student recently told me, “I don’t like to subtract so I just turn subtraction into addition and it makes it so much easier.”

Try this strategy with your child.  I find lots of kids make sense of it easy and are able to employ it with few errors.

For other subtraction strategies please see:

Constant Difference Strategy

https://alison-mazzola.mykajabi.com/blog/subtraction-strategies-constant-difference-strategy

Using Tape Diagrams

https://alison-mazzola.mykajabi.com/blog/using-tape-diagrams-for-math

You might be interested in my online course where we cover all the strategies for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  More info here:

https://alison-mazzola.mykajabi.com/parents-of-2nd-5th-mathematicians