Featuring the picture book What's the Difference? An Endangered Animal Subtraction Story by Suzanne Slade
Discover how addition and subtraction work hand-in-hand with this PF on the Go kit focused on the Think Addition strategy. Through the beautifully illustrated pages of What’s the Difference?, families explore the lives of endangered animals while uncovering the mathematical relationships between them. As children count butterflies, frogs, and salmon, they learn that subtraction isn't just about taking away. Subtraction is also a powerful tool for comparing quantities. The story encourages families to find hidden helpers in the art and discuss real-world conservation, making mathematics both meaningful and purposeful.
Families then jump into Salute, a high-energy card game that challenges players to use known addition facts to solve for unknown values. The kit also features a mathematical twist on I Spy, where players search for card combinations that match a specific sum or difference. To round out the experience, the "Talk About It" prompts help children reflect on their strategies and build the flexible thinking needed to master basic facts with confidence. Together, these activities show how using known addition facts makes solving subtraction facts easier.
Included Materials:
- What's the Difference? An Endangered Animal Subtraction Story by Christopher Danielson
- Standard deck of playing cards
- Four full-color activity cards printed on durable card stock, with clear, step-by-step instructions for every activity
Start with Kit A and progress in order to Kit J. Kits A–D are prerequisites for Kits E–J. Students should master the facts in the prerequisite kits before starting the later kits.