Missing Start and Change Word Problems

Grade level

Grades 1–2

Time

About 20 minutes

Topic

Math word problems

Answer key

Yes, page 2 of the PDF

Kids practice

Reading word problems, Choosing the operation, Showing work, Multi-step reasoning

What kids do

“What number is missing: the start, the change or the end? Write a number sentence and solve.”

Printed on the sheet:

1. 1 Some birds sat on a fence. 6 more birds came. Now there are 13 birds. How many birds were on the fence at first?
2. 2 Kai had 9 stickers. His mom gave him some more. Now he has 16 stickers.
3. How many stickers did his mom give him?
4. 3 Some kids were on the slide. 5 kids left. Now 8 kids are on the slide. How many kids were on the slide at first?
5. 4 Rosa had 17 beads. She lost some. Now she has 11 beads. How many beads did she lose?
6. 5 There were 30 cupcakes. The class ate some. Now 12 are left. How many cupcakes did the class eat?
7. 6 Eli read some pages on Monday and 24 pages on Tuesday. He read 50 pages in all. How many pages did he read on Monday?

Words on this sheet

birdskidsbeadspages

Teacher tip

Ask “Do we know how many there were at the start?” Then write a sentence with a box for the unknown.

How to use it

• Let kids act out a problem or draw it before they write a number sentence.
• Have partners solve the same problem two ways and compare.
• Do the first problem together under a document camera, then let kids finish on their own.

Watch for

Answers with no unit. Ask “Twelve what?”

Talk about it

• What label goes with your answer?
• Which problem was the hardest? What made it hard?

Take it further

Have kids write their own word problem about something from their day and trade with a partner.

US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.