Blank number line
A blank number line has the ticks but not the numbers, except at the two ends. The child labels it, or uses it as a clean line to draw hops on for an addition or subtraction problem. Four lines print on a page.
Free printable PDF, Kindergarten to 2nd grade.
One page, black and white, prints the same every time.
What is on the sheet
The table below is the sheet as it prints with these options: 0 to 20.
| 0 | 20 |
| 0 | 20 |
| 0 | 20 |
| 0 | 20 |
Two ways to use an unlabelled line
The first is labelling: the ends say 0 and 20, and the child writes every number between, which shows whether they can count on from a number and whether the spacing of the ticks means anything to them yet. The second is working: a problem such as 14 minus 6 is drawn as six hops left from 14, with only the numbers that matter written in, which keeps a busy line clean.
The 0 to 100 by tens version is for rounding and for placing a number such as 47 between 40 and 50, the 2nd and 3rd grade use.
Why four to a page
Most lessons need a fresh line for each problem. Four strips on one sheet cover a short set of problems; cut them apart for a math journal or fold the page to show one at a time.
Common questions
- Why are the ends labelled at all?
- Without them a child cannot know whether the line runs 0 to 10 or 0 to 20, so the first and last ticks carry their numbers and everything in between is theirs to write.