Unit 5 Subtraction and Difference

Dear Parent or Guardian

In this unit, your child will be learning about subtraction and how it is connected to addition.
We call addition and subtraction inverse operations as one is the opposite of the other. For
example:

5 + 3 = 8 and 8 – 5 = 3

In particular, your child will learn how to use their knowledge of addition facts to help them
subtract. They will be taught how to carry out subtraction calculations by taking objects away
from a set and counting how many are left, and by counting back on a number line. This will
help them to solve simple number problems. This unit develops your child’s mental
arithmetic and problem-solving ability.
You can support your child by carrying out simple problems with them at home. For
example, put a small number of cubes in a box and count them into the box as you do so: one,
two, three …. Say you count 8 cubes into the box. Take out 3 cubes, and show them to your
child. Ask them how many are left. You could draw pictures to help them work out the
answer. Write a subtraction sentence to show the calculation.

8–3=5

© Oxford University Press 2018