Browse lesson plans

Join them together/Take them away

The teacher will introduce beginning addition concepts of joining two sets together. The teacher will introduce beginning subtraction concepts of taking away from a set.

Format: lesson plan (grade K Mathematics)

By Vickie Hedrick.

Subtraction sticks

Using craft sticks, students will practice subtraction of 2 and 3 digit numbers with renaming.

Format: lesson plan (grade 2–3 Mathematics)

By Susan Fry.

Resources on the web

Begin with buttons: Looking back and moving forward

This Illuminations lesson is the last of an eight-part unit titled “Begin With Buttons.” In this lesson, students review the work of the previous lessons through a variety of activity stations, one of which involves using an interactive website.... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 Mathematics)

Provided by: Illuminations

Comparing sets

In this lesson, the second of a six-part unit from Illuminations, a children's book sets the stage for encouraging students to review counting back. Students write subtraction problems and model them with cubes. They then compare sets and record differences... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 Mathematics)

Provided by: Illuminations

Counting back

This lesson, one of a six-part unit from Illuminations titled “How Many More Fish?,” students count to compare plates of fish-shaped crackers then record the comparison in vertical and horizontal format. They apply their skills of reasoning... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 Mathematics)

Provided by: Illuminations

Counting back and counting on

In this lesson, the first of a seven-part unit from Illuminations, students model subtraction with connecting cubes while the teacher reads to them from counting books. Then students make a train of connecting cubes and write in vertical and horizontal... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 Mathematics)

Provided by: Illuminations

Draw a math story: From the concrete to the symbolic

This ReadWriteThink activity begins with the reading aloud of several math-oriented stories, identifies key mathematical vocabulary terms, models math story writing, and then gives students an opportunity to write addition and subtraction stories. Students... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 English Language Arts and Mathematics)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Lost buttons

Students investigate subtraction more directly, beginning with the easier “take away” mode. They model “take away” subtraction with buttons and write subtraction sentences. Illuminations provides helpful handouts and detailed instructions... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 Mathematics)

Provided by: Illuminations

Shirts full of buttons

This lesson is one of an 8-part unit from Illuminations titled “Shirts Full of Buttons.” In this lesson students explore subtraction in the comparative mode by answering questions such as “How many more?” and “How many less?”... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 Mathematics)

Provided by: Illuminations