Counting Backward Within 10 Worksheets for Kindergarten

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Grade KMathCounting & Number SenseCCSS K.CC.A.2

Skill: Counting back by ones from numbers up to 10

Preview of the Counting Backward Within 10 printable worksheet
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Teaching tips and what to try next

Good for kindergartners who can count up to 10 smoothly and are ready to say the numbers in reverse. Children often skip a number in the middle of a backward count, so slow, steady pointing at each box matters more than speed. Once this feels easy, stretch the range in Counting Backward Within 20 or count up from new starts in Counting On from a Number.

10 versions, each with its own answer key

Same skill and layout, a fresh set of problems in every version, so children can keep practicing without repeating a page. Problems are not repeated between versions unless a skill has only a small number of possible problems (for example, the addition facts within 10).

Download all 10 versions (one PDF)All 10 answer keys (PDF)

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About this worksheet

Counting backward is the quiet partner of counting forward. A child who can say 10, 9, 8, 7 without starting over at one really knows the order of the numbers, and that same skill later turns into "count back" subtraction. Kindergartners work on saying the counting sequence from a given number, and this kindergarten worksheet flips that sequence around in a small, friendly range.

The page has ten rows of six boxes. Each row starts at a number from 5 to 10 and counts down by ones, so the smallest number on the page is zero. The first number in every row is filled in, and two of the other boxes are empty. The empty boxes move around from row to row, so children cannot simply copy the row above. Each of the ten versions has new rows and its own answer key.

How to use it: count down together out loud first, like a rocket launch, and let your child hold up fingers and fold one down for each number. On the sheet, have them read the given number, then whisper the count as they move along the row, writing a number in each empty box. If a row ends at zero, point out that zero means none are left.

The answer key shows every missing number. For counting up from any number, try our Counting On from a Number worksheet. For counting back with bigger numbers, try our Counting Backward Within 20 worksheet.