Number Sense Teaching Resources
Browse printable number sense worksheets, hands-on maths activities and more teacher resources created by teachers for teachers like you!
These resources are aligned with the Australian Maths Curriculum, and each was created by teachers with teachers — and students — in mind to help build foundational maths skills in ways that engage and excite students about numbers!
Want to learn more about number sense? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including a definition of number sense, how to assess this important maths skill and more!
What Is Number Sense?
In the most basic sense (no pun intended), number sense refers to a student's intuitive understanding of numbers and their relationships. It includes the ability to estimate and compare quantities, understand numerical patterns and relationships and make reasonable judgments about the accuracy of calculations.
When students show an understanding of numbers, their size, relationships,and how they are affected by the four mathematical operations, what they're really showing is their number sense.
In an educational setting, building number sense is closely related to other foundational skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking and logical reasoning. As our students get older, it will become a crucial skill for daily life they will use to manage finances, calculate time and make decisions based on numerical information.
Teach Starter Teacher Tip: Although the names may seem interchangeable, it's worth noting that number sense is not the same as mathematical fluency or memorisation of algorithms, but rather a deep understanding of the underlying concepts and relationships between numbers.
When Does Number Sense Develop?
There is no single year level when we're teaching students number sense — instead, it continues to develop and become more sophisticated as students progress through primary school.
Research suggests that babies as young as 6 months old can distinguish between small and large numbers of objects, and by prep, students are already working on number sense as they begin to learn counting and one-to-one correspondence. At this level, they're also beginning to develop an understanding of quantity and relative size — both key to overall number sense.
Number sense will continue to grow in primary school as students become more adept at recognising and using numbers to solve problems, and it continues into high school and — for many students — into university.
Assessing Number Sense
When we assess students for their number sense skills, there are certain mathematical concepts that they should have under their belts. These include:
- Ability to Recognise Missing Numbers in a Pattern —When kids can fill in missing numbers in a sequence, they're showing that they can make connections between numbers and develop an understanding of the relationships between them.
- Ability to Use Maths Mentals — Students with number sense can use maths mentals to solve problems involving the four basic operations.
- Ability to Engage in Systematic Counting — Children who can count systematically can more easily understand the relationships between numbers, including number magnitude, patterns and sequences.
- Ability to Subitise Numbers — Students can use visual clustering skills to instantly recognise how many objects are in a group without physically counting them.
- Ability to Relate Numbers to Real-World Problems —For example, a student may understand that '3' means 'three objects' or 'three days' or 'three dollars.'
- Ability to Compose and Decompose Numbers — Students use number sense when they break down numbers and put them back together. For example, a student who can break down the number 10 into 8 and 2, then add the two back together to again make 10, is using number sense.
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Christmas Printables – I Spy Worksheet Set
Find, colour and count the Christmas objects in these fun Christmas I Spy worksheets.
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Christmas Worksheet - Search and Find
Practise counting with your students to get them in the mood for the holidays with this fun Christmas search, count, and find activity.
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Christmas Maths Puzzle - Counting to 10
Count groups up to 10 with a printable Christmas maths puzzle.
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Secret Code Number Line - Worksheet
Crack the number line code with five number line codebreaker worksheets to practice number identification, addition, and subtraction.
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Printable Number Line 0-30
Make counting a visual experience with this set of 4 multi-purpose 0–30 number lines.
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Using the Decimal Number Line (Tenths and Hundredths) Teaching Slides
Teach your students how to identify, order, and label decimals on a number line with an interactive teaching presentation.
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Hundreds Board Mystery Picture Task Cards
A set of 32 activity task cards that require students to colour in a hundreds chart to reveal a mystery picture.
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Ordering Decimals on a Number Line — Year 4 Worksheet
Practice ordering decimals on a number line with this worksheet.
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Fractions on a Number Line – Differentiated Worksheets
Practise plotting and counting by fractions on a number line with this set of differentiated worksheets.
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Colour By Number - Numbers 10-20
An engaging activity to consolidate your students’ recognition of two-digit numbers.
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Fractions on a Number Line Worksheets
Represent fractions greater than zero and less than or equal to one with a pack of fraction number line worksheets.
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The Number Line Zoo - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Develop number sense by returning the zoo animals to their correct positions on the number line with a cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Printable Number Line - 0-120
Create personal number lines for use in maths lessons with a printable blank number line template for numbers from 1-120.
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Plotting Decimals Number Line Worksheet
Practise identifying decimals on number lines with a decimal number line worksheet.
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Jump Strategy: Subtraction on a Number LIne – Worksheets
Practice subtracting two-digit numbers with regrouping using a number line and the jump strategy with a pack of differentiated worksheets.
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Number Lines – Cut and Paste Worksheets
Cut and paste to complete the number lines with differentiated number line worksheets.
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How Many Eyes? - Alien Counting Worksheet
An alien themed place value worksheet for students to use when counting small collections.
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Multiplication Colour By Number Worksheet - Kangaroo
Hop your way through multiplication mastery with a multiplication colour-by-number worksheet.
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Fraction Bars and Number Lines – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Build a fraction bar by piecing together unit fractions and identifying them on a number line with this set of differentiated worksheets.
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Identifying Prime and Composite Numbers – Worksheet
Use understanding of factors to identify composite and prime numbers with this worksheet.
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Number and Place Value Worksheets - Foundation
10 number and place value worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Rounding Numbers – Teaching Slides
Teach the basics of rounding numbers with this engaging animated PowerPoint.
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Match That Fraction! – Number Line Activity
Match fractions with their corresponding locations on a number line with a set of fraction task cards.
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Dot-to-Dot Drawing - Numbers by 2 - Anchor
Join the dots and numbers to make a picture.
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Subitising Numbers to 10 Worksheet
A place value worksheet for students to use when subitising numbers to 10.
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Hop on Number Lines - Worksheet Pack
Hop your way to addition mastery with a pack of two addition on a number line worksheets.
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Subitise and Colour
Practise subitising to five with this colour-by-number worksheet.
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Number Posters
Display this set of 1-20 number posters in the classroom to encourage a knowledge and understanding of each number.
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Firefighter Colour By Number Worksheet - Hundreds Chart
Print the perfect maths activity to accompany your fire safety lessons with a printable firefighter colour-by-number worksheet
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Algebraic Expressions – Interactive Activity
Practise writing, reading and solving algebraic expressions with this set of interactive activities.
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Understanding Positive and Negative Numbers – Worksheet
Explore positive and negative numbers by plotting integers on a number line and identifying opposites with this worksheet.
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Numbers and Words to 20 – Worksheet Pack
Use this set of worksheets when students are practising connecting numbers to words and quantities.
- Number Sense Posters
- Number Sense Worksheets
- Number Sense Games
- Number Sense Templates
- Number Sense for Preschool/Kindergarten
- Number Sense for Foundation Year
- Number Sense for Year 1
- Number Sense for Year 2
- Number Sense for Year 3
- Number Sense for Year 4
- Number Sense for Year 5
- Number Sense for Year 6
- Number Sense for Year 7