Early addition/subtraction

According to Biggs and Sutton (1983, p. 35) addition is "the putting together of two or more sets of objects (or numbers) and finding the total." 
Meanwhile, subtraction is the reverse operation of addition which is taking away a number of amount from one number. 


In addition, the process can be shown by using MAB (Mutli-base Arithmetic Blocks) or match sticks. By using this material, children able to see the process of 'putting together of two or more sets of objects' (Biggs& Sutton 1983, p. 35).

The sum of these blocks is 10 + 10 + 3

Teacher can ask the children to count and tell the amount of the blocks. The same method can be applied in subtraction by 'taking away' some of the amount of the blocks.

There are also other ways for teacher to teach subtraction in class. 

Take Away 
Rose had 8 cupcakes and gave 3 to her friend Maria. How many does each child have?


Comparison
10 children wanted to play on the playground at recess and 5 wanted to stay inside. How many more wanted to play to play on the playground?


Completion 
Henry had 5 books and he picked up some more from a rack. Now he has 7. how many did he pick up?


Missing Addend 
Sara made 12 cookies. 7 were chocolate, the rest were yellow. How many were yellow?


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