Adding and subtracting word problems – Year 2 maths lesson
Lesson 9 of 16 in the Year 2 maths course
UK version. UK school years, UK spelling and pounds (£). · US Math Department
A complete 45-minute lesson for Year 2 (ages 6–7) that runs on this page – at school or at home. Every answer is marked straight away, with a worked explanation.
- Time
- 45 minutes + 15 min homework
- Year
- Year 2 (ages 6–7)
- You need
- Paper, a pencil and this page
- Marked
- Instantly, with explanations
For parents: how to use this lesson
You don't need to know this topic yourself. The lesson explains each step on screen, one tidy step at a time. Every answer is marked straight away with a worked explanation, so you never have to mark anything.
- Read what your child will learn and the big ideas together.
- Press Start the lesson below and sit with your child for the teaching and the worked examples (about 19 minutes).
- Let them do the practice on their own. They choose Getting started, On track or Challenge – start on On track and move up after a few right in a row.
- Finish with the exit ticket and the talk question: “How did your drawing help you choose the calculation?”
- Later that day or the next day: the homework (15 minutes), then a practice test.
Watch out for
- Seeing "more" and always adding. Draw it: "how many more" compares two amounts, so find the difference.
- Answering only the first step of a two-step problem. Re-read the question at the end: have you answered what it asks?
Tip for home: Make up small story problems at snack time: 6 grapes, eat 2, how many left?
What your child will learn
We are learning to solve one-step and two-step word problems by adding or subtracting.
Success looks like
- I can choose to add or subtract.
- I can draw the problem.
- I can solve two-step problems.
Key words
- altogether
- the total – usually add
- left
- what remains – usually subtract
- how many more
- the difference between two amounts
- bar model
- a drawing of bars that shows the parts and the whole
What to have ready
- Paper and a pencil
- This page on a computer, tablet or phone
- For the hands-on part: Act the problem out with toys or food: put them together, take some away, or line two groups up to compare.
The big ideas (for the adult)
Read the problem twice. Find the numbers and decide what you need to find out.
Ask: am I putting together (add), taking away or comparing (subtract)?
Draw a picture or a bar model, write the number sentence, then answer the question in words.
The lesson, step by step
| Part | Time | How it is checked |
|---|---|---|
| Starter: quick recall | 5 min | Marked by Classfern |
| Teaching input | 10 min | Not assessed, self-checked |
| Worked examples and guided practice | 9 min | Not assessed, marked by Classfern |
| Independent practice | 15 min | Marked by Classfern |
| Plenary and exit ticket | 6 min | Marked by Classfern, self-checked |
Starter, "your turn", practice and exit ticket are marked by Classfern. Worked examples and teaching are not assessed. The hands-on task and the reflection are self-assessed. Explanations in talk are judged by the parent and not recorded.
The lesson
It runs here on the page. No sign-up and no names – progress is kept only in this browser.
Homework and practice at home
15 minutes: 8 practice questions, 3 multiple-choice questions and 2 to remember from earlier work, then a short reflection. New questions every time, all marked instantly.
More practice
More Year 2 maths lessons
- Counting in 2s, 5s and 10s
- Tens and ones
- Numbers in words
- Comparing numbers
- Number lines
- Number bonds to 10 and 20
- Adding and subtracting
- The equals sign and missing numbers
- Multiplication and division
- Recognising fractions
- Counting money
- Telling the time
- Measuring length, mass and capacity
- Shapes, position and turns
- Tally charts, pictograms and block diagrams
Curriculum
National Curriculum for England, Year 2: “using concrete objects and pictorial representations, including those involving numbers, quantities and measures”
National Curriculum for England, Year 2: “applying their increasing knowledge of mental and written methods”
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Our lessons and questions are our own. They are not written or endorsed by any government department, testing agency or exam board.