Bus Ride: Count On and Count Back

Count on when riders get on. Count back when riders get off.

Count on to add

Start at the first number. Count on to add.

There are 8 kids on the bus. 3 more kids get on. Start at 8 and count on 3.

8 + 3 =

Start at 12 and count on 3.

13, ,
So 12 + 3 =

The bus has 9 riders. 2 more get on. Which counting shows 9 + 2?

A. Start at 9 and count 10, 11.B. Start at 9 and count 8, 7.C. Start at 9 and count 10, 11, 12.

Rosa counts 14 riders on the bus. At the next stop, 4 more get on. Count on to find how many riders are on the bus now.

14 + 4 = riders

Start at the first number. Count back to subtract.

There are 13 kids on the bus. 2 kids get off. Start at 13 and count back 2.

13 − 2 =

Start at 17 and count back 3.

16, ,
So 17 − 3 =

Which counting shows 10 − 3?

A. Start at 10 and count 11, 12, 13.B. Start at 10 and count 9, 8.C. Start at 10 and count 9, 8, 7.

The bus has 15 riders. At the park stop, 4 riders get off. Count back to find how many riders are still on the bus.

15 − 4 = riders

Decide whether to count on or count back.

Match each counting to the number where you stop.

10.

Sort each bus stop story. Do you count on or count back to find how many riders are on the bus?

11.

The bus had 9 riders. Some more got on. Now there are 12 riders. Count on from 9 to 12 to find how many got on.

9 + = 12

12.

Leo finds 16 − 3 by counting "16, 15, 14." He says the answer is 14. What did Leo do wrong? What is the right answer?