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 4

🚗 Beep beep! A car has 4 wheels. Subtracting 4 is like taking off all the wheels on a car!

Lesson 6

Concept

There are a couple of cool ways to subtract 4 quickly in your head. 🎯 **The "Double-Take" Strategy:** You already know that 4 is a double (2 + 2). So, subtracting 4 is just like subtracting 2... and then subtracting 2 AGAIN! **Example: 10 - 4 = ?** 1. First, take away 2: 10 - 2 = 8 2. Then, take away another 2: 8 - 2 = 6 So, **10 - 4 = 6**! 🎯 **The "Make 10" Helper:** If your starting number is in the "teens" (like 14), separating it is easy. **Example: 14 - 4 = ?** 14 is made of a 10 and a 4. If you take away the 4, all you have left is the 10! **14 - 4 = 10**.

Try it

Let's try subtracting 4! **Instructions:** Use the "Double-Take" or counting back strategy to solve. **Problem 1: 8 - 4 = ?** * Take away 2 (to get 6). * Take away 2 more. * Answer: ___ **Problem 2: 12 - 4 = ?** * Take away 2: 12 -> 10. * Take away 2 more: 10 -> ___ * Answer: ___ **Problem 3: 16 - 4 = ?** * Answer: ___ **Problem 4: 14 - 4 = ?** * (Hint: This is one of the super easy ones!) * Answer: ___