Math worksheets

Printable math worksheets that make new problems

Most printable math worksheets have one fixed set of problems. Once a child has done the page, doing it again means remembering answers rather than practising. The worksheet makers in this section solve that: choose the type of problem and the difficulty, and the maker writes a fresh set every time you click “New problems”. Each sheet comes with an answer key on a second page, so checking takes seconds.

The focus is on the core skills of early math: adding and taking away, multiplying and dividing, and telling time. These are the skills children use every day in later math, and fluency with them makes everything after easier.

Addition worksheets

Addition worksheets come in five levels:

• Within 5 and within 10 for kindergarten. Children can use fingers, counters or a ten frame.
• Within 20 for first grade, when children learn strategies such as counting on from the bigger number and making ten.
• Two-digit numbers for second grade, with and without regrouping (carrying).
• Three-digit numbers for third grade and beyond.

A good way to use them is to start a level below where your child is comfortable. A few easy sheets build confidence and speed before moving up.

Subtraction worksheets

Subtraction worksheets use the same five levels. The bigger number always comes first, so answers never go below zero, which is what children in the early grades expect. Subtraction is usually harder than addition, so many children benefit from staying one level lower on subtraction than on addition for a while.

Helpful ways to think about subtraction include taking away objects, counting back on a number line, and the “think addition” strategy: 13 − 5 asks “5 plus what makes 13?” Children who know their addition facts well find subtraction much easier.

Division worksheets

Division worksheets practise the division facts that go with the times tables: dividing by 1 to 5, 1 to 10, 1 to 12, or 2 to 9. Every problem divides exactly, with no remainders. Division is multiplication backwards: 42 ÷ 6 asks “6 times what makes 42?” So children who know their times tables have most of division already.

Telling time worksheets

The telling time maker draws twelve clock faces per page. Children either read each clock and write the time, or draw the hands for a given time. Choose the step to match your child:

Step	Typical grade
To the hour	Kindergarten and first grade
To the half hour	First grade
To the quarter hour	Second grade
To 5 minutes	Second and third grade

The most common mistake is the hour hand. At 3:30 it should sit halfway between 3 and 4, not pointing at 3. Drawing the hands is a good way to check this.

Kindergarten math

The kindergarten math set brings together number writing from 0 to 10, adding and taking away within 5 and 10, and telling time to the hour, in the order children usually learn them. It is a good starting point if you are not sure where to begin.

Times tables

Multiplication has a section of its own: times tables has a page for every table from 1 to 20, a multiplication chart, flashcards, a worksheet maker and a quick online quiz.

How much math practice is enough?

Short and regular beats long and rare. A child who does a little math on most days of the week will remember far more than one who does a long session every weekend. Ten to fifteen minutes a day, a few days a week, keeps facts fresh without making math feel like a chore. Twenty problems is a good sheet length for most children; forty is a stretch for fluent older children. The makers let you choose 20, 30 or 40.

Mixing is also useful. Once a child knows addition within 10 and subtraction within 10, a sheet of each on the same day helps them tell the two apart, which is a common source of mistakes.

Using the answer key well

The answer key is for checking, not for copying. A few ways to use it well:

• Let your child check their own work. Marking their own answers helps children notice their mistakes and remember the right facts.
• Look for patterns in errors. Are all the wrong answers off by one? That often means counting from the wrong number. Are all the mistakes on problems with regrouping? That is the skill to practise next.
• Redo only the wrong ones. A child does not need to repeat a whole sheet, just the problems they missed.

Hands-on math alongside worksheets

Worksheets work best alongside real objects, especially for younger children. Counting buttons, building towers of blocks, sharing biscuits between plates or setting the time on a real clock gives meaning to the numbers on the page. When a child gets stuck on a worksheet problem, going back to objects for a moment often clears it up faster than explaining.

Math anxiety

Some children decide early that they are “bad at math”, and that belief makes everything harder. Keeping practice short, praising effort and strategy rather than speed, and avoiding timed tests for young children all help. Mistakes are part of learning, and a child who checks their own work and fixes an error has learned more than one who got it right first time.

Word problems and real-life math

Worksheets build fluency, but children also need to know when to use each operation. Short spoken word problems fit into everyday life: “We have 12 strawberries and 4 people, how many each?” or “The film starts at 4:30, it is 4:15 now, how long do we wait?” Asking children to make up their own word problem for a sum on their worksheet is a strong way to check that they understand what the numbers mean.

Mental math strategies worth teaching

Children who know a few strategies are faster and make fewer mistakes than those who only count. A handful cover most early problems:

• Counting on from the bigger number. For 3 + 8, start at 8 and count on 3.
• Making ten. 8 + 5 is 8 + 2 + 3, which is 10 + 3 = 13.
• Doubles and near doubles. If 6 + 6 = 12, then 6 + 7 = 13.
• Fact families. 3 + 5 = 8, 5 + 3 = 8, 8 − 5 = 3 and 8 − 3 = 5 all belong together.
• Adding tens first. For 34 + 25, add 30 + 20 = 50, then 4 + 5 = 9, so 59.

Talking about which strategy your child used for a problem, and whether there was a quicker one, builds flexible thinking that pays off for years.

Grade-by-grade guide

Kindergarten. Count to 100, write numbers to 20, add and subtract within 10 using objects and drawings, and recognise shapes.

First grade. Add and subtract within 20 fluently within 10, understand tens and ones, tell time to the hour and half hour.

Second grade. Add and subtract within 100, begin three-digit numbers, tell time to five minutes, and start skip counting toward multiplication.

Third grade. Multiply and divide within 100, know the times tables from memory, and begin fractions.

These follow the US Common Core broadly; other curricula are similar in order, if not always in timing.

Printing math worksheets

Every math sheet prints on US Letter or A4 in black and white. The problems are large enough to write answers in clearly, with a line for each answer and plenty of space around each problem. The answer key prints as a second page, so if you only want the questions, print page 1 only. Every press of “New problems” also makes a new answer key, so the two always match.

Free for home and school

All math worksheets and makers on this page are free to print for home, classroom and tutoring use, as many times as you like. Teachers can generate a different version for each table group or each child, so neighbours cannot copy answers, and every version comes with its own matching answer key. Parents can print a fresh sheet each evening without ever repeating the same page. There is nothing to sign up for and nothing to install: the makers run in your browser and the PDF is made on your own device.

If there is a kind of math worksheet you would like to see added next, such as money, fractions, place value or measurement, tell us through the contact page. The most requested topics are the ones we build first.