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This Mixed Add Subtract drill has 40 problems for Grade 1. Mini Engineers theme. Answer key included.
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Max's robot machines broke down! He must fix 10 machines before the factory powers off forever.
Standard: CCSS.MATH.1.OA.C.6
Preview
Page 1 — Drill
Page 2 — Answer Key
What's Included
About this Grade 1 Mixed Add Subtract Drill
At age 6 and 7, children are developing the mental flexibility to switch between adding and subtracting within the same problem—a crucial bridge between single-operation thinking and real-world math. Mixed-add-subtract problems mirror how young minds actually solve everyday situations: starting with 5 blocks, adding 2 more, then removing 3. This skill strengthens number sense, builds confidence with the relationship between addition and subtraction, and prepares students for word problems and multi-step thinking in later grades. When children can fluidly move between operations, they're not just memorizing facts—they're learning that numbers are flexible tools. These drills help cement automaticity so students can focus their mental energy on understanding what a problem is asking, rather than struggling with the arithmetic itself.
What your student will practice
- Solve mixed addition and subtraction problems with sums under 20
- Correctly identify and execute the operation symbol in sequence
- Recognize the relationship between adding and subtracting the same numbers
- Improve fluency and confidence with fact combinations using two operations
Common mistakes to watch for
The most common error Grade 1 students make is ignoring the second operation symbol entirely—solving 8 + 3 − 2, for example, and stopping at 11 instead of continuing to subtract 2 and reaching 9. Another frequent pattern is reversing the operations or performing them out of order, especially when subtraction comes second, because students aren't yet comfortable with the direction of change. Watch for careless errors where a child writes the correct answer but clearly miscalculated one step aloud. These mistakes aren't conceptual confusion—they're working-memory overload at this age.
Use a physical "number line walk" at home: give your child a starting number, then call out addition or subtraction moves ("Start at 5, add 2, subtract 1") and have them physically step or jump along a line of numbers taped on the floor. This makes the two-step process tactile and visible, helping young learners see that operations happen in order. Celebrate when they catch themselves mid-step—that self-correction is where real learning happens.