Blank number lines (free printable, choose the range)

About this sheet

A number line is a way to see how numbers sit in order and how far apart they are, and children use it first for counting on and counting back. The same page serves many jobs: a 0 to 20 line for addition and subtraction, a 0 to 100 line counting by tens, a line with ten steps that you label by hand for fractions and decimals, and an open line with no numbers at all for jumps and mental strategies. Choose the first and last numbers and the step between ticks, and decide how many labels to print. Long lines are labeled at intervals, so they stay readable. Six lines fill a page, with enough room for the loops and arrows that show jumps.

Grades: K to 6. Best in: August, September, October, November.

How to use it

1. Set the start, the end and the step, and choose whether to label every tick, only the ends or none. Set how many lines to print.
2. Print a page for each child. Students draw jumps as loops above the line to show an addition or a subtraction.
3. Ask them to write the number sentence beside each line, such as 8 + 5, with the jumps they drew.

Five ideas for class

1. Use a 0 to 20 line and draw jumps: start at 8, jump 2 to reach 10, then 3 more. The picture teaches making ten.
2. Print lines with only the ends labeled, and ask students to place numbers, such as where would 15 go on this line?
3. Count by fives or tens on a line from 0 to 100, labeling the ticks, and say the count aloud together.
4. Print a line with ten steps and no labels, write 0 and 1 at the ends and the tenths between, and use it for decimals and fractions.
5. Print open lines with no numbers and ask students to use them to solve a subtraction by counting back in jumps.

Related

• Blank hundreds grid
• Fraction strips
• Number bonds
• Number line
• Hundreds chart