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Addition and Subtraction Stories

A 30-minute Kindergarten lesson on solving word problems within 10, where the hard part is deciding what happened in the story rather than doing the arithmetic.

Addition and Subtraction Stories is a free 30-minute Kindergarten maths lesson plan for Common Core standard K.OA.A.2 — solve simple adding and taking-away story problems up to 10. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.

Grade:
Kindergarten
Length:
30 minutes
Standard:
K.OA.A.2

Kindergarten · Operations & Algebraic Thinking

K.OA.A.2

Solve addition and subtraction word problems, and add and subtract within 10, e.g., by using objects or drawings to represent the problem.

Objective

Students will be able to solve addition and subtraction word problems within 10 by representing the story with objects or a drawing.

Students are successful when they can

  • Retells the problem in their own words before solving it.
  • Chooses adding or taking away and can say why.
  • Gives an answer with a unit — five apples, not five.

What you need

  • Counters, about 10 per child
  • Story problem cards, one set per pair
  • Paper for drawing
  • The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — tell it back

4 min
  1. Read a short story problem twice. Do not ask for the answer.
  2. Ask three children to retell it. Retelling is the step most often skipped and the one that decides the operation.

Teach — the story before the sum

9 min
  1. Read: 'Ben had 6 stickers. He gave 2 to his sister.' Stop before asking anything.
  2. Ask what happened. Not what the answer is — what happened. Some left.
  3. Build it with counters, then answer: how many now?
  4. Read a second problem: 'Ben had 6 stickers. His sister gave him 2 more.' Same numbers, opposite story.
  5. Build that one too, side by side with the first. Two 6s and two 2s, two different answers.
“The numbers do not tell you what to do. The story does. Listen to what happened before you touch your counters.”

Guided practice — build it before you answer

8 min
  1. Pairs take a story card. One reads, the other builds it with counters.
  2. They must agree on what happened before either says a number.
  3. Swap roles for the next card. Include a comparison story — 'who has more, and how many more' — for the pairs who are ready.

Independent practice

6 min
  1. Children complete a story problems page with counters available.
  2. Wrong answers that used the right operation are a much better sign than right answers on a page where every story was addition.

Close

3 min
  1. Tell one story and ask only whether it is adding or taking away. Do not collect the answer.
  2. Ending on the question rather than the number is deliberate.

What goes wrong, and why

Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.

Adds every pair of numbers in every story.

Why: Addition is the operation they know best and a word problem is being treated as a signal to do something with the two numbers present. Nothing in the page has ever punished it before.

Fix: Give three problems in a row that are all subtraction. The strategy fails immediately and visibly, which teaches more than being told to read carefully.

Keys on the word 'more' and adds, even in 'how many more does Ana have than Ben'.

Why: Keyword strategies are taught early because they work on easy problems, and this is what they look like when they stop working.

Fix: Never teach the keyword. Ask what happened in the story instead, every time, so no keyword habit is ever built to have to break.

Gives the answer as a bare number and cannot say what it counts.

Why: The problem has been processed as arithmetic, with the context dropped as soon as the numbers were extracted.

Fix: Require the unit in every answer — 'four stickers'. A child who cannot name the unit has not solved the problem, and this catches it in one word.

If they are not there yet

  • Keep totals within 5 and read the problem twice, pausing after the first sentence so the starting quantity gets built before anything happens to it.
  • Provide the counters already counted out to the starting number, so the work is the action rather than the setup.

If they finish early

  • Give the answer and the story and ask for the missing starting number.
  • Give a two-step story: three joined, then one left.
  • Ask the child to write their own story for 7 and 3, then swap with a partner.

Exit ticket

There were 8 ducks on the pond. 3 swam away. How many are on the pond now?

What to look for: 5 ducks, with a drawing or counters showing three removed. An answer of 11 means the numbers were added on sight — that child needs to retell stories before solving them for the next fortnight.

Printable practice for K.OA.A.2

Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.

Questions about Addition and Subtraction Stories

How long does the Addition and Subtraction Stories lesson take?

30 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 4 min, teach 9 min, guided practice 8 min, independent practice 6 min, close 3 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.

Which standard does Addition and Subtraction Stories teach?

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.OA.A.2 — K.OA.A.2, Operations & Algebraic Thinking for Kindergarten: “Solve addition and subtraction word problems, and add and subtract within 10, e.g., by using objects or drawings to represent the problem.” In plain terms, solve simple adding and taking-away story problems up to 10.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

Counters, about 10 per child, story problem cards, one set per pair, paper for drawing and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.

What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?

Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: adds every pair of numbers in every story; keys on the word 'more' and adds, even in 'how many more does Ana have than Ben' and gives the answer as a bare number and cannot say what it counts. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.

How do I know whether the lesson worked?

The exit ticket asks: “There were 8 ducks on the pond. 3 swam away. How many are on the pond now?.” 5 ducks, with a drawing or counters showing three removed. An answer of 11 means the numbers were added on sight — that child needs to retell stories before solving them for the next fortnight. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.

Is there a worksheet to go with Addition and Subtraction Stories?

Yes — 2 printable K.OA.A.2 worksheets, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.

Is Addition and Subtraction Stories free to use?

Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 5 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to K.OA.A.2 of the Common Core State Standards for mathematics.