This subtraction strategy unit provides practice with two different, but related, beginning subtraction strategies – counting back and counting up. Counting back involves beginning with the bigger number (minuend) and counting back. For example, to solve 8-3, begin with 8 and count back, “7, 6, 5.” This strategy should not be used when the subtrahend is higher than 4. For example, using counting back to solve 16-11 would not be effective, because it would be easy to make mistakes and get mixed u