Subtraction Thanksgiving
by The Swift Bird © 2026
Price: $3.75 USD
Subjects: games,holiday,math,mathElementary,additionAndSubtraction,operationsAndAlgebraicThinking,thanksgivingUS
Grades: 13,1,2
Description
Subtraction with turkey on Thanksgiving. Tilly the Turkey has a big job—she’s packing pumpkin pies for the parade helpers! On every card, students subtract by dragging the required number of pies off the table and into Tilly’s sack, then read how many pies are left. It’s a playful, visual way to make subtraction feel concrete while keeping the Thanksgiving spirit front and center. What students do 1. Read a subtraction sentence to identify how many to take away. 2. Drag and drop pies into the sack to subtract the given amount. 3. Count the pies still on the table and state/write the subtraction answer. Why it works 1. Reinforces the take-away model of subtraction with immediate visual feedback. 2. Builds fluency with subtract within 10 (optionally within 5 for extra support). 3. Encourages math talk: “We started with 9 pies, we subtracted 4, we have 5 left.” 4. Uses a consistent Thanksgiving story so the focus stays on subtraction thinking. Skills & standards 1. Counting back and “how many left” subtraction (K.OA.A.2, 1.OA.C.6, 1.OA.A.1). 2. Modeling subtract situations (start-change-result, part-part-whole). 3. Writing and reading subtraction equations to match actions.
Acknowledgements
This resource was earlier a part of the "Curious Buds" store. freepik.com pixabay.com