Subtraction Strategies
for SIS Insiders
1st Grade: Counting Up with Springling
We use the double ten-frame to support visual strategies for counting up to subtract within 20
Springling helps students find the difference by jumping up from the subtrahend to the minuend
Example: For 14 − 9, students place counters on two ten-frames and count up from 9 to 14
No tricks, just visual thinking.
2nd Grade: Strategies for Bigger Numbers (and Zeros!)
As students move beyond 20, we shift into subtraction with D.C. (Decompose/Compose) using place value strips
Students subtract by decomposing tens and ones
(When zeros show up, we introduce Minni and Subbi—our character duo for subtracting across zeros.)
4th & 5th Grade: Traditional with Full Conceptual Support
Only after students have a strong place value foundation do we introduce the traditional algorithm
We use the TPops Place Value Mat and discs/strips to model regrouping:
1 hundred = 10 tens
1 ten = 10 ones
The minuend is built with discs, the subtrahend is built with strips, so students see what’s being taken away.
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