Jun 11

Written by: deb
6/11/2014 9:53 AM 

Subtraction can be very intimidating as students are first introduced to the concept. There are many ways to teach this concept, but here is one that can be very fun for your students.

Ladybug Subtraction....

As a new kindergarten teacher, I spent endless hours creating items to use in the classroom and one day I put my entire family to work making "Lima Bean" ladybugs! We paint the beans red, allowed them to dry and later added the little black dots. These bugs were then used for our introduction to subtraction.

Copy off the leaf pattern below for each student. Give each student 10 ladybugs.

Then say, put 5 ladybugs on the big leaf.  Say, 2 ladybugs flew to the little leaf.  Ask students to move 2 ladybugs to the smaller leaf. Then ask, "How many ladybugs are still on the big leaf?" Be sure to then discuss the problem...5 ladybugs were on the large leaf. 2 ladybugs flew away to the smaller leaf. Now there are 3 ladybugs left on the big leaf. Write the problem on the board/overhead, also.

These ladybugs can then be used without the leaf pattern as students become more familiar with the concept.



Happy Teaching!

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