puzzEasy printable addition pyramid worksheets
These are pure addition. Each pyramid in this pack is verified to be finishable by adding pairs of bricks upwards and nothing else — a child never hits a point where they need to subtract, and never hits a point where they need to plan. Fill in every pair you can see, then look again, and the pyramid closes.
That makes the easy pack an unusually painless way to drill number bonds. A child who would sigh at twenty written sums will happily do the same twenty additions to finish a pyramid, because each answer visibly unlocks the next brick. The numbers are kept small deliberately: bases are single digits and the apex usually lands somewhere in the twenties or thirties, so the arithmetic stays within comfortable mental range.
What is in this pack
| Shape | five bricks along the base, narrowing to one at the top — fifteen bricks | |
|---|---|---|
| Numbers | positive whole numbers, apex typically under 40 | |
| Solving level | addition only — verified, never needs subtraction | |
| Best for | number-bond and mental-addition practice, Year 2-3 / US grades 1-2 | |
- Four A4 pagesThree puzzles, then a full answer key. Print the first three only if you would rather keep the answers.
- One verified solution eachEvery puzzle is passed through a solver and discarded unless exactly one answer fits.
- No sign-up, no watermarkA direct PDF download. No email address, no account, nothing to dismiss.
- Free to photocopyUse them at home, in a classroom, at a childminder or in a holiday club.
Teaching tip. Get the child to say each addition out loud as they write it — "four and three is seven" — rather than working silently. It turns the sheet into spoken number-bond rehearsal, which is where the real practice value sits.
How to solve a number pyramid
Five bricks along the bottom, narrowing to one at the top. Everything follows from a single relationship.
- Learn the one ruleEvery brick equals the two bricks immediately below it added together. That single rule works everywhere in the pyramid, in both directions, and there are no other rules to remember.
- Fill in every pair you can addScan the pyramid for any place where two side-by-side bricks are both filled and the brick above them is empty. Add them, write the total above, and repeat. Do this until no more pairs are available — on an easy pyramid this alone finishes the puzzle.
- Turn it round and subtractNow look for a filled brick whose two children include exactly one filled brick. The missing one is the brick above minus the one you know. If the top is 12 and one brick below is 5, the other must be 7. Say it out loud as a subtraction the first few times.
- Alternate until it closesKeep swapping between adding upwards and subtracting downwards. Each new brick unlocks fresh pairs in both directions, so the pyramid tends to finish in a rush once the first few stubborn bricks fall.
- Check the topWhen every brick is filled, re-add the whole pyramid from the bottom row up. If you arrive at the same number at the apex, the pyramid is right — a wrong brick almost always shows up as a mismatch at the top.
Who this pack suits
Small numbers, apex usually under 40. Finishes with addition alone — no subtraction needed.
How the number pyramid packs compare
| Number Pyramid pack | Ages | What it asks of them |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | 6-8 | Small numbers, apex usually under 40. Finishes with addition alone — no subtraction needed. |
| Medium | 7-10 | Built so addition stalls. The child must work at least one brick out by subtracting. |
| Tricky | 9-12 | Bigger numbers and sparser clues; needs several subtraction steps and some planning. |
Questions about this pack
Do easy pyramids ever need subtraction?
No, and this is checked rather than assumed. Each puzzle in this pack is run through a solver that only ever adds pairs upwards, and it is only included if that solver finishes the whole pyramid unaided.
How big do the numbers get?
The base bricks are small whole numbers, and because each row adds pairs the apex usually lands somewhere between about fifteen and forty. Nothing on the sheet requires written column addition.
What year group is this for?
Year 2 and Year 3 in the UK, roughly grades 1 and 2 in the US. It is also a good confidence-restorer for an older child who has lost their nerve with mental arithmetic.
How long does one pyramid take?
Two to five minutes once a child has the idea. The first one usually takes longer because the rule has to be explained; after that they tend to want to do all three in a sitting.
More free worksheets
Other number pyramid packs
Other kinds of puzzle
See all 17 free worksheet packs.
Hundreds more of these in the app
Puzzeroo is an iPhone and iPad app with two hundred number pyramid levels alongside three other puzzle types — eight hundred in total, all generated by the same verified engines that made this worksheet, all working fully offline with no adverts and no accounts. The worksheets and the app draw from completely separate puzzle ranges, so printing these gives nothing away.