Max Rescues the Popcorn Factory: Subtraction Race!

About this Grade 1 Subtracting Multiples Of 10 Drill

Subtracting multiples of 10 is a cornerstone skill that builds your child's confidence with number sense and mental math. At ages 6–7, students are developing the ability to work with tens and ones as separate units, which is crucial for all future addition and subtraction work. When children can quickly subtract 10, 20, or 30 from a number, they're learning that the ones place stays the same—only the tens change. This understanding prevents them from counting on their fingers for every problem and helps them recognize patterns in numbers. Mastery of this skill makes larger subtraction problems feel manageable and prepares them for second-grade work with regrouping. Beyond the worksheet, this practice strengthens their ability to handle money, tell time, and solve real-world problems where they need to work backward from a quantity.

What your student will practice

• Subtract 10 from two-digit numbers without regrouping
• Recognize that subtracting multiples of 10 only changes the tens digit
• Use place-value strategies to solve subtraction problems mentally
• Apply subtracting multiples of 10 to word problems and real situations

Common mistakes to watch for

Many first graders incorrectly subtract from both the tens and ones digits when they see a subtraction sign, writing 45 – 10 = 25 instead of 35. Others freeze when they see problems like 50 – 20 because they haven't yet internalized that they're really just subtracting 2 tens from 5 tens. You'll notice this when a child counts backward on fingers or reverts to counting by ones instead of working with the tens place. Watch for hesitation or incorrect answers in the ones place—this signals they're not yet seeing multiples of 10 as 'bundles' that leave the ones untouched.