Jay Austinson

Subtract to Compare
Standard: (1.1.2.1) Use a variety of models and strategies to solve addition and
subtraction problems in real-world and mathematical contexts.
Benchmark: Use words, pictures, objects, length-based models (connecting cubes),
numerals and number lines to model and solve addition and subtraction problems in
part-part-total, adding to, taking away from and comparing situations
Objective:
1. Content-Students will know how to model and record comparison subtraction
situations.
2. Language-I know the difference between more and less.
Materials: Pencil, Harcourt worksheet, cubes, slates and markers
Instruction:
Opening
Begin by calling children to front of room. Have children show they are ready to
learn by sitting cross-legged with hands on lap.
First graders, we have been talking a lot about subtraction the last few days,
particularly taking apart numbers. What else can we use subtraction for? (Allow
for responses)
Today were going to use subtraction by comparing different groups of things to find
which group has MORE. For example, who here has a brother or sister? Ok Logan,
how old is your sister? (Go to board to make tally marks for her age) How old are
you? (Make tally marks for his age)
First graders, Does Logan or his sister have MORE tally marks? How many MORE?
How can we show this? (Connect corresponding tally marks until you run out of
tallies for Logan) How can I write this in a subtraction sentence? (Demonstrate the
sentence on the board).
First graders that was a great example. Im wondering if you can think of other
things we could compare. Lets focus on things that are in this room. (Allow for
responses)
Ok, what about the numbers of boys and girls? How could we find out how many
MORE boys we have than girls using a model? (Consider using a graph for a model)
Have a student come up and draw lines connecting the 6 girl faces to the 6 boy
faces). So how many MORE boys do we have? (Finish by writing the subtraction
sentence)
Do one more example if there is time.
Activity

Have children return to desks, ripping worksheet out of textbook. Tell children we
will be working through the first page together.
Can someone tell me why are we using subtraction to tell us how many MORE
striped fish we have than spotted fish? (Because subtraction tells us the difference
and the difference tells us how many MORE)
Exactly, when we are finding out how many MORE we are really finding the
difference.
Boys and girls, in this first example we are going to be subtracting to compare how
many more of one kind of fish there are than another. How can we keep track of
how many more striped fish there are than spotted fish? (We can draw lines
connecting the top and bottom rows) How do we know if our subtraction sentence is
correct? (The answer is the amount of objects left over)
How many MORE striped fish do we have than spotted fish? (4) What is our
difference in our subtraction sentence? (4)
Work through the rest together.
Have children complete page 56 on their own. Walk room to gauge comprehension.
Tell children we will have a fun activity when everyone is done.

Evaluation
Number Card and Cube Activity
Children will join with their elbow partners to complete this activity for the
remainder of class. Students will be each have a 10 cube and a deck of cards 1-10.
The goal of the game will be for children to work together to make subtraction
sentences on their slates. Each partner will draw a separate card and create a link
of cubes representing the number they drew. Children will then compare their cube
trains to determine who has more and how many more. They will finish the activity
by writing a subtraction sentence on their slates. Repeat until children have used all
the numbers in the deck.