Story Subtraction for Class 1 - Take-Away Word Problems

Reading, thinking, and subtracting - one story at a time

Little ones practice subtraction through simple stories about birds, balloons, and toys, connecting real situations to take-away number sentences.

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Coloring Page

Color the Balloon Story

Color the picture using your favorite colors!

Download the worksheet PDF to print this page and color it in with crayons or pencils.

Matching

Draw a line from each little story to the subtraction sentence that matches it.

1. 6 birds sat on a wire. 2 flew away.

2. 5 candies in a jar. Riya ate 1.

3. 8 fish in a pond. 3 swam away.

4. 9 pencils in a box. 4 were given away.

5. 7 kites in the sky. 5 flew too high and were lost.

Fill in the Blanks

Read each story carefully and write the missing number in the blank.

1.Amit had 7 marbles. He lost 3 while playing. Now he has marbles.

2.There were 6 mangoes on the plate. Mother took away 2 for the guests. mangoes are left.

3.9 ducks were swimming. 4 ducks walked out of the pond. ducks are still swimming.

4.Priya had 5 stickers. She gave 3 to her friend. She now has stickers.

5.8 crayons were in the box. 5 crayons broke and were thrown away. crayons are left in the box.

Short Answer

Read each situation. Write the subtraction sentence and the answer in the blank space below it.

1. Sohan had 10 toy cars. He gave 6 to his cousin. How many toy cars does he have now? Write the subtraction sentence and your answer.

2. There were 12 apples in the basket. Mother used 5 to make juice. How many apples are left in the basket?

3. A farmer had 9 chickens. A fox scared away 3 of them. How many chickens are left with the farmer?

These are open-ended - there's no single right answer to check.

True / False

Read each sentence. Circle True or False.

1. If you have 6 apples and eat 2, you are left with 4 apples.

2. Subtraction means putting two groups together.

3. In the sentence 8 - 3 = 5, the number 8 is how many you started with.

4. If 5 birds fly away from a group of 5, no birds are left.

5. The word 'gave away' in a story usually means you should add.

6. 9 - 9 = 0 means nothing is left.

Written by Lernizy Editorial Team

Updated 27 Aug 2026