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Addition and Subtraction Word Problems: Crack the Case

Addition and Subtraction Word Problems: Crack the Case

Learn to solve addition and subtraction word problems by tapping number clues, building bar models and checking answers with the inverse.

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What you'll learn

  • Use a bar model to decide whether to add or subtract
  • Find the difference to answer how many more or fewer
  • Add and subtract lengths, masses and capacities with the right unit
  • Check a subtraction by adding, and an addition by subtracting
  • Find a missing number like? + 6 = 14 with the inverse
  • Why the word more does not always mean add

Chapter by chapter

  1. Adding stories: putting together and adding more Free to try

    Year 2 maths · 1

  2. Take-away stories: finding how many are left and the missing part

    Year 2 maths · 1

  3. Comparing stories: how many more and how many fewer (the difference)

    Year 2 maths · 1

  4. Measure stories: adding and subtracting lengths, masses and capacities

    Year 2 maths · 1

  5. Checking answers with the inverse: add to check take-away, take away to check adding

    Year 2 maths · 2

  6. Missing number problems: finding the hidden number with the inverse

    Year 2 maths · 2 Year 2 maths · 1

  7. Detective Challenge: 10 mixed word problems (10 questions)

What the chapters cover in the national curriculum in England:

  1. Year 2 maths: 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
  2. Year 2 maths: Recognise and use the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction and use this to check calculations and solve missing number problems

About this adventure

Addition and Subtraction Word Problems is an interactive maths game for children aged 6–8 that teaches the Year 2 skill of turning a number story into a sum, solving it and checking the answer. Nell the hedgehog detective guides every problem through four steps: read, picture, solve and check.

Players tap the numbers in each story to collect clues, act the story out (baking buns, cutting a ribbon, pouring juice) and drag the clues into a bar model, where the whole sits on top and the parts sit underneath. Seeing where the question mark lands tells them whether to add or take away. They then jump along a number line and type the answer.

Along the way they meet the difference between two amounts, units such as cm, kg and ml, and the inverse: adding undoes taking away. A cheeky magpie called Muddle makes common mistakes for children to spot.

Questions and answers

How do you solve an addition or subtraction word problem?

Read the story and find the numbers, then draw it as a bar model to see what is missing. If you need the whole, add the parts; if you know the whole and one part, subtract to find the other part, then check your answer.

Does 'how many more' mean add or subtract?

'How many more' usually means finding the difference, which is a subtraction, even though the word more sounds like adding. Lining the two amounts up and finding the gap shows why: 12 conkers compared with 7 conkers gives a difference of 5.

What does using the inverse mean in Year 2 maths?

Using the inverse means doing the opposite calculation to undo a sum. Adding and subtracting are inverses, so children can check 42 − 15 = 27 by working out 27 + 15 and seeing that they get back to 42.

What age is this word problems game for?

The game is made for children aged 6 to 8 and follows the Year 2 national curriculum in England for KS1 maths. Numbers stay within 100, so it also suits older children who need extra practice with word problems.

What is included in the game and how long does it take?

The game has six chapters, an optional warm-up on parts and wholes, and a ten-question Detective Challenge at the end. Playing everything takes about 45 minutes, and children can start any chapter from the map.

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