Math Story : Subtraction With Borrowing

35 Days Goal challenge

“Children, how would you feel if you achieved a goal you had set?” asks Uncle Math. “Wow! I would be super happy”, says Triho. “Me too!” say Cirha, Cirho and Squarho. The kids express that they would want to keep doing this more and more.

Goals establish a sense of purpose in life and assist in better focus. Setting smaller goals every day helps us progress one step at a time. “So, are you ready for a goal challenge?” asks Uncle Math. “Definitely yes!” say the kids together.

“We will set one goal for ourselves and work on it for the next 35 days. We will support and hold each other accountable throughout this process. Let us call it a 35-day goal challenge!” says Uncle Math. The kids are thrilled and start to think of the goals they can set.

Cirha likes gardening and decides to plant one seed every day. Squarho wants to get fitter and decides to run every day. Cirho’s room is always messy. So he decides to keep his room tidy. Triho wants to spend less money and save it for the future. Uncle Math decides to help more and more people. Such meaningful goals indeed.

On Day 1, everybody is enthusiastic. They start working towards their goals.

Soon, 19 days are over. “Let me take a break for one day”, says Squarho. “Yea! I will also take a break”, says Cirho. “No! You can’t do this. Only a few days are left now. Come on start your tasks”, encourages Cirha. “But how many days are still left Cirha?” both of them question. They look tired now.

“1,2,3,4…” Cirha starts counting. She gets confused and misses counting some days in between. “Oops! Triho can you help?” she says. Triho is unable to help as well. “Hey! Uncle Math’s goal was to help more and more people. He will help us. Let us go”, he says.

Quickly they rush to his house. “So to find out the remaining days, what should we do?” questions Uncle Math. “Subtraction” answers Triho. Hearing this Uncle Math takes out his special gadget called Mr Place Value. 

Mr Place Value is a digital board that has special table names Tens and Ones. Let us see how Uncle Math uses this to find the remaining days. Let us go. 

“Since it is a 35-day challenge and 19 days are over, we need to subtract 19 from 35!” explains Uncle Math. He inputs the numbers in the gadget. Soon, the gadget arranges the numbers in the Tens and Ones column.

Triho gets excited and says, “Oh! I know this now. We need to subtract the ones first and then tens. So 5-9 is equal to…” Uncle Math starts laughing. He says, “5 is smaller than 9. How will you take away 9 days from 5?”

Triho realizes his mistake and asks Uncle Math to continue. “So what do we do when we run short on things usually?” asks Uncle Math. “We borrow from our friends”, answers Cirho. “Exactly! And here tens is the friend of ones. And it will borrow one ten from it”, he says. When 1 ten gets added to 5. It is 15 now.

“Wow! We can easily subtract 9 from 15 now”, says Triho. Subtracting 9 from 15, we get 6. 

Since 1 ten was borrowed, now we have only 2 tens. Subtracting 1 from 2, we get 1. 

“Hurray! Only 16 days are left now”, says Cirha. “Correct answer!” announces the gadget.

Cirho and Squarho are motivated now. They continue working on their goals with Cirha, Triho and Uncle Math. It is the last day of the 35-day challenge.

They discuss their achievements. “Unbelievable! I read 35 stories”, says Cirha. “I saved 100 funcoins”, says Triho. “My room looks so beautiful now”, says Cirho. “My stamina has increased so much now”, says Squarho. Everybody is so proud of each other.

“Well done!” says Uncle Math and appreciates their efforts. The goal challenge did not just push them to achieve the best but also gave them a purpose to work hard on. The kids are inspired and wish to set another goal and work towards it together.

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We Learnt That…

• To find out the leftover or remaining things, we should always subtract. 
• To subtract using the place value gadget:
  1. Write the numbers in the Tens and Ones column
  2. If the number on the top is bigger than the bottom number, borrow one ten from the tens column and subtract the ones now.
  3. Reduce one ten from the Tens column and subtract the tens now.
  4. Write the final answer.

•  Setting smaller personal goals every day helps us progress one step at a time.

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Let’s Discuss

• What was the 35 days challenge all about?
• What types of goals did we all set?
• How did we find the remaining days?
• Do you believe in goals? How would you feel if you achieved your goal?
• What personal goals would you set for yourself? How will you work towards them?

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• Subtarction With Regrouping