Week 7 of 8
Week 7
1st Grade → 2nd Grade · Subtraction borrowing 20 and Short vowels
Math
Subtraction With Borrowing to 20
Subtracting within 20 when the ones digit is too small — 15 − 8, 13 − 7. Second half of first grade.
The mistake to watch for. Subtracting the smaller ones digit from the larger regardless of position: 15 − 8 answered as 13, from 8 − 5 = 3.
How to help. Go through ten. For 15 − 8, take 5 to land on 10, then 3 more. Two easy steps beat one hard one.
A worked example
Try 15 − 8. You cannot take 8 from the 5 ones, so use the ten: take away 5 to reach 10 (15 − 5 = 10), then take away the other 3 (10 − 3 = 7).
All subtraction with borrowing to 20 sets, with answer keys →
Reading & language
Short Vowel Sounds
Naming which of the five short vowel sounds (a/e/i/o/u) is in a word. First grade, building directly on kindergarten CVC decoding.
The mistake to watch for. Confusing short e and short i — "pen" and "pin" sound nearly identical to an early reader's ear.
How to help. Have your child feel their mouth shape: short e opens wider than short i. Pairing minimal pairs (pen/pin, ten/tin) side by side makes the difference audible.
A worked example
Say 'pig' slowly: p-i-g. The middle sound is the short i, like in 'sit'. Short vowels are quick sounds: a in cat, e in bed, i in sit, o in hot, u in cup.
Words for this week
- subtract
- To take one number away from another to find how many are left.
- regroup
- To trade 10 ones for 1 ten (or 1 ten for 10 ones) when you add or subtract.
- difference
- The answer you get when you subtract.
- minus
- The sign ( − ) that means take away.
- ten
- The number 10, one more than nine.
- vowel
- The letters a, e, i, o and u. Every syllable has a vowel sound.
- consonant
- Any letter that is not a vowel, like b, c, d or f.
- sound
- What you hear when you say a letter or a word.
- letter
- One of the symbols we use to write words, like a, b or c.
- syllable
- One beat in a word. Elephant has three syllables: el-e-phant.
Read this week
Antares
A short space article from our Learn library, chosen for this reading level. Read it together, then ask your child to tell you one new thing they learned.