Now, let's practice solving subtraction problems! In this activity you will need two small toy cars, a piece of chalk, a ruler, a sheet of paper, and a pen. You can do this activity in the backyard, on the garden path, or on any flat surface that you will be allowed to mark with chalk.
Mark a straight line on your flat surface with the chalk. This will be your starting line. Then push the first toy car forward from the starting line. Mark the spot where the toy car stops. Next, use the ruler to measure the distance between the starting line and the spot where the toy car stopped. Write down the distance in inches on your sheet of paper.
Now push the second toy car from the starting line. Push it more carefully than you did the first one so that it moves more slowly. Again, mark the spot where the car stopped. Measure the distance between the starting line and the spot where the toy car stopped. Write down the distance in inches on your sheet of paper.
How much farther did the first toy car travel than the second? Write down the number family based on the information you've written down and solve the problem.
Let's say that the first toy car rolled 36 inches. Write it down on the top part of your paper. The second car stopped at 19 inches. After you write the distance below the first number, it will look like this:
Now solve this problem: how much farther did the first car roll than the second car? Right-the difference (answer) equals 17. The first car rolled 17 inches farther than the second car.
You can repeat the activity, but you can push the second car harder than the first. Or you can even have them race! Just be sure to mark the spots where both cars stopped and measure the distance from the starting line.
Enjoy solving!
Ready to move on to the next lesson?
Setting Up More or Less, Farther and Longer Word Problems
