Addition and Subtraction Word Problems Within 20 Worksheets

About this resource

A join/separate/compare/missing-addend word-problem kit for first and second grade: adding on to find

a new total, taking away to find what is left, comparing two totals, finding the missing part of a

story, reading a full two-sentence story with room to show work, and a cut-and-glue match — six

genuinely different ways to practice the four core addition and subtraction problem structures, every

number and every answer within 20, plus the record-keeping a classroom or small group needs around it.

EVERYTHING INSIDE (29 pages)

• 8 Join Problems across 2 pages — a named story: has some, gets more, write the new total
• 8 Separate Problems across 2 pages — a named story: has some, gives or uses some, write what is left
• 8 Compare Problems across 2 pages — two named totals; write how many more one has than the other
• 8 Missing Addend Problems across 2 pages — has some, gets some more, now has a total; find the

missing number that was added

• 8 Mixed Story Problems across 2 pages, PLUS a worked example shown solved at the top of the first

page — full 2-sentence stories mixing join and separate, with a "my work" space and an answer box;

no (operation, a, b) triple repeats and no two answers are alike anywhere in the set, the same

no-repeat pattern Story Problems Worksheets Within 20 and Money Word Problems Worksheets use,

checked at build time

• 12 Cut and Glue pieces across 2 pages — match an equation to its answer (Set A), or a short word

phrase to its answer (Set B)

• 3 answer keys, generated from the same numbers and arithmetic every worksheet uses
• 1 practice tracker (one student, six formats), 1 progress snapshot (a bar graph rolling the six

scores into one picture), and 1 class grid (whole class), type-in or print

• 1 family update — a note home with blanks for the week's formats and the district's own wording
• 1 home practice page — a second setting (home, an after-school program, a paraprofessional) using

real small objects, no school materials needed

• 1 filled example — an invented student, every number checked against its own table
• 1 phrase bank — progress-note, family-note, next-step and talk-first starters
• 1 binder cover with a spine label and six divider tabs
• Start Here, a how-it-works page (with the four problem types laid out side by side), and a contents

page that gives every page number

Every Number Hand-Computed And Re-Checked By Code

Every Join and Compare total is the sum or difference of the two numbers in the story; every Missing

Addend answer is the ending total minus the starting number. Every one of these is written out as a

comment in the module and asserted at import time, so a wrong hand computation fails the build instead

of shipping silently. The eight Mixed Story Problems are drawn from a pool of hundreds of (operation,

a, b) triples with a seeded, assert-checked search so no two stories repeat the same numbers or the

same answer.

Four Problem Types, Six Ways To Practice

Join Problems add on to find a new total. Separate Problems take away to find what is left. Compare

Problems find the difference between two totals. Missing Addend Problems find the missing part of a

join story. Mixed Story Problems put join and separate into full two-sentence stories. Cut and Glue

matches an equation or a phrase to its answer.

Within 20, Never Money

Every number a child reads is 20 or less, and every answer is 20 or less. Nothing in this file is

written in dollars or cents, and no coin appears anywhere.

Type In, Or Print

The name and date lines, every "my work" box, every answer box, the tracker, the snapshot, the class

grid, the family update and the home page are type-in fields in any PDF reader. This is a fillable

PDF; it is not a Google Slides, Google Docs or PowerPoint file.

Who This Is For

First and second-grade classrooms, self-contained and resource rooms, and any small group working on

addition and subtraction word problems below or above grade level.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

An addition-and-subtraction word-problem practice set with the record-keeping around it. It is not a

full math curriculum, not a timed fluency probe, and not a claim about any student's age, grade level

or rate of progress. The tracker has a blank line for your own scoring criteria.