Grade 1
Course ContentAddition/Subtraction
Jambo Young Mathematician! Let's Play with Numbers!
Hello there! Today, we are going on an exciting adventure with numbers. We will learn how to put numbers together (Addition) and how to take them away (Subtraction). It's like playing a fun game with your toys or sharing snacks with friends. Are you ready? Let's begin!
What is Addition? It's a Number Party! (Kujumlisha)
Addition is when we bring groups of things together to make a bigger group. We use the 'plus' sign (+) for addition. Think of it as adding more friends to your game!
Story Time: At the Market!Amina goes to the market with her mother. They buy 4 sweet, ripe mangoes. On their way home, they meet a friend who gives them 2 more mangoes from his shamba (farm). How many mangoes does Amina have now altogether?
Let's count them together!
First, we have the 4 mangoes they bought:
_
/ \
( O ) <-- Mango 1
\_/
_
/ \
( O ) <-- Mango 2
\_/
_
/ \
( O ) <-- Mango 3
\_/
_
/ \
( O ) <-- Mango 4
\_/
Then, we add the 2 mangoes their friend gave them. We are putting the groups together!
(4 mangoes) + (2 mangoes) = ?
Let's count all of them: 1, 2, 3, 4 ... 5, 6!
4 + 2 = 6
Amina now has 6 mangoes! Hongera, Amina!
Image Suggestion: A colourful, vibrant illustration of a Kenyan market stall. A friendly female vendor is handing a smiling child in a school uniform a bag of ripe mangoes. The style should be cartoonish and bright, suitable for a children's book.
What is Subtraction? The 'Taking Away' Game! (Kutoa)
Subtraction is when we start with a number of things and then take some of them away. We use the 'minus' sign (-) for subtraction. It helps us find out what is left.
Snack Time: Sharing Samosas!Juma has 5 delicious samosas for his snack time. He is very kind, so he shares 3 samosas with his friends. How many samosas does Juma have left to eat?
Let's figure this out. Juma starts with 5 samosas.
Here are Juma's 5 samosas:
/\ /\ /\ /\ /\
/__\ /__\ /__\ /__\ /__\
Samosa Samosa Samosa Samosa Samosa
1 2 3 4 5
Now, he gives 3 away. Let's cross them out to see what's left.
We have 5 samosas. We take away 3.
/\ /\ /\ /\ /\
/__\ /__\ /__\ /__\ /__\
How many are left? Let's count: 1, 2!
5 - 3 = 2
Juma has 2 samosas left for himself! Well done for sharing, Juma!
Image Suggestion: A happy Kenyan child in a playground, sharing his snacks (samosas) with two other smiling friends. They are all sitting on a bench under a tree. The art style is warm, cheerful, and friendly.
Time for a Challenge! You are a Math Champion!
Let's try some more problems together. You can do it!
-
Challenge 1: Counting Goats
Babu's farm has 6 goats in the field. He buys 3 more goats from the neighbour. How many goats does Babu have in total?
( ( ) ) /-----\ ( O O ) | \_/ | <-- Imagine 6 of these! \ --- / ||| We are putting groups together, so we ADD! 6 + 3 = 9 Answer: Babu has 9 goats in total. That's a lot of goats! -
Challenge 2: Spending Pocket Money
You have 10 shillings to spend at the duka (shop). You buy a sweet that costs 4 shillings. How much money do you have left?
(1) (1) (1) (1) (1) <-- 10 shillings (coins) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) You are spending, so we TAKE AWAY! 10 - 4 = 6 Answer: You have 6 shillings left. Save it for another day!
Wow! You are a Numbers Superstar!
Amazing work today! You have learned how to be a master of Addition and Subtraction.
- Addition (+) is for putting things together.
- Subtraction (-) is for taking things away.
Keep looking for numbers all around you—on the school bus, at the market, and in your storybooks. Mathematics is everywhere, and you are getting better at it every single day. Keep practicing, and keep being curious!
Jambo Young Mathematician! Let's Explore the World of Numbers!
Habari yako? Welcome to a fun adventure in Mathematical Activities! Today, we are going to become number detectives. Our mission is to understand two very special friends: Addition and Subtraction. You see them everywhere – at the duka when buying sweets, at home when sharing chapati, and even when counting the cows in the field. Let's get started!
Addition (+) is all about JOINING!
Think of addition as bringing things together to make a bigger group. When you add, you are finding the total or sum of numbers. It's like inviting all your friends to a party – the more who come, the bigger the party!
A Story from the Market:> Image Suggestion: [A vibrant, colourful illustration of a Kenyan market scene. A mother and a young girl, Asha, are at a fruit stall. The mother is holding 4 mangoes, and the stall owner is handing her a bunch of 3 bananas. Both are smiling. The style should be cheerful and storybook-like.]
Asha goes to the market with her mum. Mum buys 4 juicy mangoes. Then, she sees some sweet bananas and buys 3 more. How many fruits does Mum have altogether? We join the groups!
To show we are joining them, we use a special sign called the plus sign (+). It looks like a small cross.
Let's help Asha count the fruits:
Mangoes + Bananas = Total Fruits
🥭🥭 + 🍌🍌🍌 = 🥭🥭🍌
🥭🥭 🥭🥭🍌
4 + 3 = 7
So, Mum has 7 fruits altogether. Fantastic work!
Adding Bigger Numbers (Like a Pro!)
Sometimes we need to add bigger numbers. The secret is to line them up neatly. We put the Ones with the Ones, and the Tens with the Tens. Let's try adding 25 + 17.
Tens Ones
2 5
+ 1 7
----------
5 + 7 = 12.
12 has 1 Ten and 2 Ones.
We write the 2 in the Ones place and 'carry over' the 1 to the Tens place.
1 (carry this over)
2 5
+ 1 7
----------
2
1 (the one we carried) + 2 + 1 = 4.
We write the 4 in the Tens place.
1
2 5
+ 1 7
----------
4 2
So, 25 + 17 = 42. You did it!
Subtraction (-) is all about TAKING AWAY!
Subtraction is the opposite of addition. It's when we start with a group and take some away. We use subtraction to find out how much is left or the difference between two numbers. It’s like when you have a plate of mandazi and you eat some... yummy!
A Story from the Shamba:> Image Suggestion: [A simple, friendly cartoon of a Kenyan farm setting (shamba). There are 8 cute chickens, but 3 of them are shown running away comically from a mischievous-looking mongoose. Farmer Kamau is scratching his head, looking puzzled. The focus is on the chickens.]
Farmer Kamau has 8 happy chickens (kuku) in his coop. One morning, a clever mongoose sneaks in and chases 3 chickens away! Oh no! How many chickens are left in the coop?
To show we are taking away, we use the minus sign (-). It's just a small straight line.
Let's help Farmer Kamau count his remaining chickens:
Total Chickens - Chickens that ran away = Chickens Left
🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔 - 🐔🐔🐔 = 🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔
🐔🐔🐔
8 - 3 = 5
So, Farmer Kamau has 5 chickens left. Asante for helping him!
Subtracting Bigger Numbers (The Borrowing Trick!)
What if you need to subtract a bigger number from a smaller number in the Ones column? We use a trick called borrowing! Think of it as politely asking your neighbour (the Tens column) for a little help. Let's try 42 - 17.
Tens Ones
4 2
- 1 7
----------
We cannot take 7 from 2! So, we need to borrow from our neighbour, the 4 in the Tens place.
The 4 becomes a 3, and it lends a 'Ten' to the Ones place.
The 2 becomes 12.
3 12 (4 becomes 3, 2 becomes 12)
4 2
- 1 7
----------
12 - 7 = 5.
We write 5 in the Ones place.
3 12
4 2
- 1 7
----------
5
3 - 1 = 2.
We write 2 in the Tens place.
3 12
4 2
- 1 7
----------
2 5
So, 42 - 17 = 25. Well done!
Ready to be a Number Hero? Let's Practice!
Here are some challenges for you. Try to solve them in your exercise book.
- Question 1: Juma collected 15 eggs from the chicken coop. His sister Wanjiku collected 10 more. How many eggs do they have altogether?
- Question 2: You have 50 shillings. You go to the duka and buy a bottle of soda for 35 shillings. How much money do you have left?
- Question 3: What is 68 + 24? (Remember to carry over!)
- Question 4: What is 71 - 46? (Remember to borrow!)
You are a Mathematical Activities Superstar!
Look at you! You have learned how to join numbers with addition and take them away with subtraction. These skills are so important. Every time you count money, share food, or play games, you are using math. Keep practicing, and soon you will be solving number problems faster than a cheetah can run! Hongera!
Jambo Mwanafunzi! Welcome to a Number Adventure!
Hello, clever student! Are you ready to play with numbers today? All around us in beautiful Kenya, numbers are busy working and playing. We see them when we buy mandazi at the duka, when we count the cows in the field, or when we share sweets with our friends. Today, we are going to learn two of the most important number games: Addition (Kujumlisha) and Subtraction (Kutoa). Let's begin!
Part 1: Addition (+) - The 'Putting Together' Game
Addition is all about bringing things together to find out the total amount. When we add, our group gets bigger! We use a special sign that looks like a small cross, called the plus sign (+).
Story Time: Meet Akinyi. She went to the shamba (farm) to pick some sukuma wiki. She picked 4 leaves from the first plant. Then, she picked 3 more leaves from the next plant. To find out how many leaves she has in total, we add them together!
Image Suggestion: [A bright and friendly cartoon of a young Kenyan girl, Akinyi, wearing a colourful dress. She is in a green shamba, smiling as she puts sukuma wiki leaves into a kiondo (a woven basket). She has a small pile of 4 leaves and is adding another small pile of 3 leaves to it.]
Let's do the math to help Akinyi count her sukuma wiki:
4 leaves
+ 3 leaves
----------
7 leaves
So, Akinyi has 7 leaves of sukuma wiki in total! We can also write it like this: 4 + 3 = 7.
Let's see it with pictures!
Let's imagine the leaves are circles (o):
Group 1: o o o o (4 leaves)
Group 2: o o o (3 leaves)
Putting them all together:
o o o o + o o o = o o o o o o o (7 leaves!)
Part 2: Subtraction (-) - The 'Taking Away' Game
Subtraction is the opposite of addition. It's about taking away some items from a group to see how many are left. When we subtract, our group gets smaller! We use a sign that is a small straight line, called the minus sign (-).
Story Time: Imagine your friend Baraka has 8 delicious chapatis on a plate for his family. He is very hungry, so he eats 2 of them. How many chapatis are left on the plate? To find out, we need to take away the ones he ate.
Image Suggestion: [A warm, cartoon-style illustration of a Kenyan kitchen table. There is a plate with 8 golden-brown chapatis. A boy, Baraka, is happily eating one chapati, and an empty space on his side of the table shows where another chapati used to be.]
Let's do the math to see how many chapatis are left:
8 chapatis
- 2 chapatis
----------
6 chapatis
So, there are 6 chapatis left for the rest of the family! We can also write it like this: 8 - 2 = 6.
Let's draw the chapatis! We will use 'C' for chapati and 'X' for the ones that were eaten.
Baraka started with 8 chapatis:
C C C C C C C C
He ate 2 of them, so we take them away:
C C C C C C X X
How many are left? Let's count!
There are 6 chapatis left.
Mazoezi Time! Your Turn, Mwanafunzi Hodari (Clever Student)!
Now it's your turn to be the number hero! Grab your exercise book and a pencil and try to solve these problems. Remember, think about whether you are 'putting together' or 'taking away'.
- Question 1: A Maasai farmer has 6 goats. He buys 4 more goats from the market. How many goats does he have in total? (Are you adding or subtracting?)
- Question 2: You have 10 shillings. You go to the duka and buy a pencil that costs 7 shillings. How many shillings do you have left?
- Question 3: There are 9 children playing 'kati' outside. 3 of them are called home for lunch. How many children are left playing?
Hongera! You are a Number Star!
Fantastic work today! You have learned the secrets of addition and subtraction. Just remember this simple rule:
Addition (+) is for joining groups together to get a bigger total.
Subtraction (-) is for taking items away to see what is left.
Keep practising and looking for numbers everywhere you go. You will see that math is a fun and useful part of our life here in Kenya. Keep up the great work!
Pro Tip
Take your own short notes while going through the topics.
