Subtracting with Base Ten Blocks

In too many cases, subtraction with regrouping is learned as a step-by-step procedure.  It's true for me.  When I learned to subtract with regrouping, my elementary school teacher taught me the steps - not actually what was happening with the numbers. Because I just learned a process, I sometimes became confused with the steps and made mistakes.  Because I just learned a process, I struggled with number sense and estimation.  I didn't really understand how numbers worked together.  I didn't want this to happen to our kids.  So - to learn a conceptual understanding of regrouping, we used base ten blocks to demonstrate what was actually happening when we "cross out" a number and change it into another one.  We started by using this incredible website to actually see the base ten blocks in action, then we moved to using base ten blocks on our own.  Students had to use the base ten blocks to explain exactly what was happening in each step.  I was really proud of our kids for the understanding they gained this week.

Subtracting with base ten blocks

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