K-5 friendly lesson

Try one idea, then jump into the activity.These lessons are designed to feel short, friendly, and easy to follow.

Subtracting 2

✌️ Subtracting 2 means taking two backward hops. Or, you can just think about skipping numbers!

Lesson 4

Concept

When you subtract 2, you are taking away a pair of things. 🎯 **The "Count Back Two" Strategy:** **Example: 8 - 2 = ?** Put 8 in your head. Now, count backward two numbers: "7... 6". So, **8 - 2 = 6**. 🎯 **The "Skip Backward" Trick:** If you know how to skip-count by 2s (2, 4, 6, 8, 10...), subtracting 2 is just going backward on that path! If you throw a ball from 10 and it bounces back 2 spaces, it lands on 8. **10 - 2 = 8**.

Try it

Let's do some double backward hops! **Instructions:** Count backward two spaces to find the answer. **Problem 1: 7 - 2 = ?** * Start at 7. Hop back: "6, ___" * Answer: ___ **Problem 2: 11 - 2 = ?** * Start at 11. Hop back: "10, ___" * Answer: ___ **Problem 3: 15 - 2 = ?** * Answer: ___ **Problem 4: 4 - 2 = ?** * Answer: ___