Take a Penny

        Have you heard about Take a Penny?  No, I don't mean the coin tray at the gas station-this is a subtraction strategy that can be used when students are trying to subtract across zeroes and are having difficulty with the regrouping.  Take a Penny is another great Pinterest find but I also found the original blog with a more detailed explanation of how and when to use this strategy. 

        The original post is from Tricks of the Teaching Trade and can be found here:

if you get a chance to look over the strategy I am curious what you think?  I know that subtracting across the zeroes can be EXTREMELY tricky . . . but I'm not sure about teaching the strategy.  I would like to see if the rhyme that I taught my students last year will work first, I think.  (You can see the rhyme by clicking here for the Subtraction Success post.)  But I'm wondering what do you think?