Subtraction within 5 Fluency — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. Sam had 5 cookies and ate 1. Cookies left = 4
Five minus one is four, so four cookies remain on Sam's plate after eating one.
2. 4 fish swam, 2 hid. Fish seen = 2
Four minus two leaves two fish swimming where you can still see them clearly.
3. 5 balloons, 3 popped. Left = 2
Five minus three equals two balloons still floating after three popped suddenly.
4. 3 - 1 = 2
Starting at three and stepping back once gives two as the final difference.
5. Mia had 4 apples and gave 4 away. Left = 0
Four minus four leaves zero, because giving them all away empties the group.
6. 5 - 0 = 5
Subtracting zero from five keeps the answer at five with no change at all.
7. 2 ducks, 1 swam off. Ducks left = 1
Two minus one equals one duck remaining on the pond after one swam away.
8. 5 - 2 = 3
From five, count back to four then three, leaving three as the answer.
9. 4 - 3 = 1
Four minus three leaves one, since only one item remains after removing three.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
5 cookies, eat 2
→ 5 - 2 = 3
5 - 2 = 3
4 fish, 1 hides
→ 4 - 1 = 3
4 - 1 = 3
5 balloons, 5 pop
→ 5 - 5 = 0
5 - 5 = 0
3 ducks, 0 leave
→ 3 - 0 = 3
3 - 0 = 3
Each story removes a number from the start, and the matching equation shows the same subtraction clearly.