Taking away: simple subtraction
Maths · Early Years · The School
Starting with a known number
You have six counters. You already know there are six — no need to recount them from scratch. Take two away. Now count what is LEFT: one, two, three, four. Four left. Starting from a number you already know, and just counting the remainder, is much faster than starting over.
Counting backwards
There is another way. You started with six. You took two away. Count BACKWARDS two steps from six: "six… five, four." You land on four, the same answer, without touching a single counter. Counting backwards is a skill worth practising on its own, away from any objects.
Two ways to think about it
Subtraction answers two slightly different questions. "HOW MANY ARE LEFT?" — after some are taken away. "HOW MANY WERE TAKEN?" — if you know the start and the end. Both are subtraction, just asked from a different direction. Knowing both helps you spot subtraction hiding in a question that does not use the words "take away".
Six counters on the table. Take two away and put them in a cup. WAY ONE: count what is left on the table. One, two, three, four. Four left. WAY TWO: count backwards from six, two steps. "Six… five, four." Four again. Both ways agree, because they are really the same question — how many are left when two are taken from six — just answered by two different routes.