Number line
A number line is a straight line with equally spaced ticks, each one labelled with a number in order. Children use it to count, to add by jumping right and subtract by jumping left, and later to place fractions and negative numbers.
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 10, 20, 50, 100.
0 to 10
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
0 to 20
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
0 to 50 by fives
| 0 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 |
0 to 100 by tens
| 0 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 100 |
Which line for which job
The 0 to 10 line is the kindergarten tool: count the ticks, find a number, say what comes before and after. The 0 to 20 line is where 1st grade adds and subtracts by hopping, three jumps right from 8 landing on 11. The 0 to 100 lines by fives and tens are for skip counting and for rounding in 2nd and 3rd grade, where a number between two tens is placed and the nearer ten read off.
Choose four copies of one line when the lesson is a set of problems that each need a fresh line to hop along. Cut the strips apart or leave them on the page.
Using it
Put a finger on the starting number and hop once per unit, saying each number as you land. Draw the hops as arcs above the line with a pencil so the work stays visible for checking. For subtraction, hop left. For a missing-addend problem such as 6 + ? = 13, start on 6, hop to 13 and count the arcs.
The blank number line prints the same lines with only the ends labelled, so a child can write the numbers in, and the negative number line runs from -10 to 10 for the first work with numbers below zero.
Common questions
- Why do the lines have arrowheads?
- A number line continues in both directions; the arrows say so. The part printed is the stretch a lesson needs.
- Can I get a blank one?
- Yes, the blank number line page prints the same lines with the ticks unlabelled except the ends.