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National Curriculum Resource Tool

Materials to support teachers and schools in embedding the National Curriculum

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Year 2 - Addition and Subtraction

New Curriculum

  • solve problems with addition and subtraction:
    • using concrete objects and pictorial representations, including those involving numbers, quantities and measures
    • applying their increasing knowledge of mental and written methods
  • recall and use addition and subtraction facts to 20 fluently, and derive and use related facts up to 100
  • add and subtract numbers using concrete objects, pictorial representations, and mentally, including:
    • a two-digit number and ones
    • a two-digit number and tens
    • two two-digit numbers
    • adding three one-digit numbers
  • show that addition of two numbers can be done in any order (commutative) and subtraction of one number from another cannot
  • recognise and use the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction and use this to check calculations and solve missing number problems.

Non-Statutory Guidance

Pupils extend their understanding of the language of addition and subtraction to include sum and difference.

Pupils practise addition and subtraction to 20 to become increasingly fluent in deriving facts such as using 3 + 7 = 10; 10 – 7 = 3 and 7 = 10 – 3 to calculate 30 + 70 = 100; 100– 70 = 30 and 70 = 100 – 30. They check their calculations, including by adding to check subtraction and adding numbers in a different order to check addition (for example, 5 + 2 + 1 = 1 + 5 + 2 = 1 + 2 + 5). This establishes commutativity and associativity of addition.

Recording addition and subtraction in columns supports place value and prepares for formal written methods with larger numbers.

Links and Resources