Max Conquers the Cooking Show Math Kitchen

About this Grade 3 Mixed Add Subtract Drill

By Grade 3, students encounter problems that mix addition and subtraction in a single expression—a crucial skill that mirrors real-world decision-making. When your child watches a cooking show and sees a chef start with 45 ingredients, use 12, then add 8 more, they're experiencing mixed operations firsthand. This worksheet builds fluency with two-step problems that require students to read carefully, decide which operation comes first, and execute both calculations accurately. Mastering mixed-add-subtract strengthens number sense, builds confidence with multi-step thinking, and prepares students for more complex word problems in Grade 4. At ages 8–9, students are developing the working memory needed to hold two operations in mind simultaneously while tracking place values. This drill-grid targets that exact cognitive leap.

What your student will practice

• Solve two-step problems combining addition and subtraction with whole numbers to 1000
• Read and execute operations in correct order without regrouping confusion
• Identify which operation to perform first based on problem structure
• Check answers by working backward or estimating reasonableness

Common mistakes to watch for

The most common error is students performing operations from left to right without reading the full problem first, leading them to add when they should subtract next. Another frequent pattern: confusion during regrouping when the subtraction step requires borrowing—students may "forget" they already did an addition and regroup incorrectly. You'll spot this when a child writes two different answers for the same problem on different attempts, or when they confidently state an answer that's off by exactly 10 or a multiple of 10. Watch for students who write down only one operation's result and skip the second step entirely.