Plus or minus

Every card shows a number and a suit - spades, clubs, hearts or diamonds. The result stands behind the cards.
All cards of the same suit count the same way - either they are all added or all taken away. Your child writes a + or a − next to each suit.
Exactly one way of choosing plus and minus gives the result.

Example

7♠︎2♦︎4♥︎=9♠︎ +♥︎ +♦︎ −
6♣︎5♥︎3♣︎2♠︎=12♠︎ −♣︎ +♥︎ +
8♦︎1♠︎6♥︎2♦︎=5♠︎ +♥︎ −♦︎ +
3♥︎9♣︎4♠︎=2♠︎ −♣︎ +♥︎ −
5♠︎2♥︎4♣︎3♠︎1♦︎=11♠︎ +♣︎ +♥︎ −♦︎ +

For parents

What does this exercise practice?

Plus or minus practices adding and subtracting up to 20 and trying things out in order - first sort by suit, then check one possibility after another.

Common pitfalls

A common mistake is giving two cards of the same suit different signs. It helps to add up the cards of one suit first.

How to practice at home

Draw a few real playing cards up to 10, work out a result and let your child guess which suit was taken away.

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