Word problems (separating): Word Problems
Kindergarten · Subtraction within 10 · CCSS.Math.K.OA
- Theo had 8 cards and gave away 6. How many cards does Theo have left? ___
- Mara had 10 marbles and gave away 9. How many marbles does Mara have left? ___
- Kai had 6 marbles and gave away 4. How many marbles does Kai have left? ___
- Nia had 9 toys and gave away 4. How many toys does Nia have left? ___
- Nia had 5 pencils and gave away 4. How many pencils does Nia have left? ___
- Theo had 6 coins and gave away 1. How many coins does Theo have left? ___
This is the preview. Hit "Print this worksheet" above to open a clean, ad-free, one-page version with name and date lines and writing space for each problem. A separate answer key prints on the second page for the grown-up. Tear it off before handing the practice page to your child.
Use this free Kindergarten math worksheet to help your child master Word problems (separating). It belongs to our Subtraction within 10 collection, aligns with CCSS.Math.K.OA, and is built so a kid with a sharp pencil can finish a meaningful round of practice in roughly ten minutes.
Worksheets in this series mix straight computation, short word problems, and visual models so students see the same idea from several angles instead of only one. Students who get stuck should slow down on the first problem, talk through what the question is actually asking, and only then pick up the pencil. Reading errors disguise themselves as math errors all the time at this age.
Strong students can race the clock and aim for a personal best. Students who need more support can work in pairs and explain their thinking out loud, which is one of the highest-leverage moves in elementary math because it forces students to put fuzzy thinking into clear words.
Want a different angle on this skill? Try the matching variants in our Kindergarten · Subtraction within 10 collection, or jump up to the cross-grade Subtraction within 10 hub.
Parents tell us the most useful thing about this Word problems (separating) page is how fast they can hand it to a kid. No login. No PDF locked behind an email gate. Click print, hand it over, get ten quiet minutes of real math practice without prepping anything.
This worksheet is aligned to Common Core State Standard CCSS.Math.K.OA and supports the broader Subtraction within 10 progression that students continue to build through later grades. The same skill is revisited each year with greater abstraction, so the work your student does on this single sheet feeds into the multi-digit and multi-step problems they will see in middle school.
Pair this Word problems (separating) worksheet with the rest of the Kindergarten Subtraction within 10 collection for a focused practice block that covers the standard from several angles in a single afternoon.
Sample problems on this worksheet
- Theo had 8 cards and gave away 6. How many cards does Theo have left? ___
- Mara had 10 marbles and gave away 9. How many marbles does Mara have left? ___
- Kai had 6 marbles and gave away 4. How many marbles does Kai have left? ___
- Nia had 9 toys and gave away 4. How many toys does Nia have left? ___
- Nia had 5 pencils and gave away 4. How many pencils does Nia have left? ___
- Theo had 6 coins and gave away 1. How many coins does Theo have left? ___
How to use this worksheet
Print one copy per child on standard letter or A4 paper. Set a quiet 10 to 15 minute window. Hand your student a sharpened pencil and an eraser, and let them work top to bottom. The first row is a warm-up on purpose. The last row is a stretch on purpose. Sit with them as they finish so any misconceptions surface right away instead of getting practiced into a bad habit.
If your student finishes quickly, flip the page over and ask them to write two new problems of their own that target the same skill. It's a powerful retention move. If they get stuck, pull out manipulatives that match the skill (counters for early addition, base-ten blocks for place value, fraction tiles for fractions) and work through one or two problems together before letting them try the rest on their own.
Common Core alignment
This page targets CCSS.Math.K.OA inside the broader Subtraction within 10 progression. The skill is introduced earlier in elementary school through concrete representations and revisited each year with greater abstraction. To see how it develops across grade levels, visit our Subtraction within 10 hub. To see the rest of the Kindergarten work in this strand, visit the Kindergarten · Subtraction within 10 collection.