Virginia SOL 1.CE.1.h
The Standard
Identify and use (+) as a symbol for addition and (-) as a symbol for subtraction.
Virginia Standards of Learning for Mathematics · The student will recall with automaticity addition and subtraction facts within 10 and represent, solve, and justify solutions to single-step problems, including those in context, using addition and subtraction with whole numbers within 20.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students connect each operation sign to an action: putting quantities together or taking part away. They choose and write the correct sign in number sentences.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students correctly name each sign and explain the action it represents. They place the correct sign in an equation after seeing a model, picture, or short story.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may confuse the two signs or treat them as decoration. They may choose a sign by guessing instead of noticing whether quantities join or separate.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Fill in each blank with + or -: “6 cubes, get 3 more: 6 __ 3” and “9 cubes, give away 4: 9 __ 4.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs counters and operation cards; students model 6 + 3 and 9 - 4, then place the matching card.
Show 7 + 2 and 7 - 2; ask students to explain how the sign changes what they do.
Play Sign Sort: students draw an equation card and place it under a plus or minus heading.
Use a snack story: five crackers gain two or lose two, and students choose the sign for each event.
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Printable 1.CE.1.h Worksheet

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Related Standards
- 6.CE.2.b
Add, subtract, multiply, and divide two integers.*
- 6.CE.2.a
Demonstrate/model addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of integers using pictorial representations or concrete manipulatives.*
- 3.CE.1.d
Identify and use the appropriate symbol to distinguish between expressions that are equal and expressions that are not equal (e.g., 256 - 13 = 220 + 23; 457 + 1...
- 4.CE.2.d
Identify and use the appropriate symbol to distinguish between expressions that are equal and expressions that are not equal, using addition, subtraction, multi...
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