A missing number fact asks a child to work backwards: 6 + ? = 14. It looks like a new kind of problem, but it is the same addition fact seen from the other side, and it is the first step toward algebra. Children who can solve it do not just recall a sum, they understand that the parts and the whole are connected, so that 14 - 6 gives the missing part.
Each item on this page has one short line where a number is missing, always the second number being added. Encourage your child to start at the first number and count up to the total in jumps, or to ask what must be added to make the total. Checking the answer by adding it back is a good habit.
What your child will learn
Find the missing addend in a fact within 20
Connect addition and subtraction
Check an answer by adding it back
Common Core standard: 2.OA.B.2
Worked example
For 6 + ____ = 14, think 6 and what makes 14? Count up from 6 to 14 and you get 8. Check: 6 + 8 = 14.
Common mistake
Writing the total or the first number in the blank instead of the number that is missing.
Helpful hint
Count up from the first number to the total, or subtract the first number from the total.