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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Addition Strategies: Make a Ten Worksheet
A 2-page worksheet that uses ten frames to model the “making ten” addition strategy.
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Making Ten Memory Game
Practise making ten using ten frames with this fun memory game.
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Number Recognition 0-5 Colour-by-Number Pack
Practise number recognition with this colour-by-number activity pack! Students colour varied representations of the numbers 0-5 to solidify their understanding.
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Dot-to-Dot Worksheets – Counting by Ones
Use this set of 3 dot-to-dot worksheets to get your youngest students practising how to count by ones.
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Which Is More? Counting Card Game
Compare and order collections up to 20 with this set of counting cards.
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One More, One Less - Worksheet
Practise foundational addition and subtraction facts using the concepts of one more and one less.
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Number Talk Task Cards - Ten Frames
Build number sense skills with this set of 30 ten and double ten frame maths talk task cards.
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Counting and Colouring Basketball I Spy Worksheet
Have a bit of counting and colouring fun with a basketball worksheet for Prep.
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Colour Counting Worksheet
A worksheet to consolidate the concept of numbers and associated values.
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Frog in a Pond - Colour by Numbers
Colour by numbers is a fun and easy way to help students recognise digits.
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Subitising Activity — Clip Cards (Numbers 1 - 10)
Share this subitising activity with your students to give them hands-on practise subitising to 10.
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Counting 1-10 Count and Colour Worksheet Pack
Practise counting to 10 with this set of worksheets ready to go!
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Reading Colours Ordinal Numbers Worksheet
Consolidate reading colours and ordinal numbers with this worksheet.
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Subitising Dots Worksheets
Utilise these Subitising Dots Worksheets to help your students learn many ways to subitise to 10.
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Recognising Numbers 0 — 20 BINGO Game
Help your students identify numbers 0 - 20 with this printable Bingo game!
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Firetruck Colour By Number Worksheet
Build number identification skills with a printable Firetruck Colour by Number Worksheet.
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Counting 1-20 Worksheet Pack
Practise counting to 20 with this set of worksheets ready to go!
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Colour by Number - Numbers 0-9
An engaging activity to consolidate your students’ recognition of one-digit numbers.
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Hands and Numbers 1-10 Counting Activity Template
Teach counting from 1 to 10 and one-to-one correspondence with a creative (and free) printable activity.
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Subitising Mazes (Numbers 1 - 10)
Solve our subitising mazes to have fun practising subitising quantities up to 10!
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Subitising to 10 Interactive Task Cards
Practise subitising to 10 with these varied and engaging interactive task cards.
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Number Word Search Puzzles
Assign these number word search puzzles to your students to give them practise identifying the word form of the numbers 0 through 20.
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Ten Frame Matching Game
Use this ten frame game to strengthen your students’ number sense and foundational maths skills.
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Finger Counting Cut and Paste
Count to ten using this finger counting cut and paste worksheet.
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Roll & Cover Counting Activity
Build fine motor and counting skills with a set of printable Roll and Cover Counting Activity Mats.
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Subitising Aquarium – Sorting Activity
Practise recognising the quantity of a small group of objects with this subitising sorting activity.
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Base Ten Block Matching Cards (Random Numbers 100 - 1000)
Use these base ten block matching cards to help your students practise number recognition and place value skills for numbers up to 1000.
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Virtual Subitising Card Deck
Display these virtual subitising cards to teach your students to instantly recognise quantities.
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Number Sorting Activity: Numbers 1-10
A fun board game that helps students practise counting 1–10, with separate 1–5 and 6–10 sets for easy differentiation.
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Numbers 1-10 Bug Matching Game
Help students learn to represent numbers 1-10 in picture, word and number form.
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Pirate's Plunder - Number Line Subtraction Game
Practise using the jump strategy for subtraction from 20 with an exciting pirate-themed maths game.
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Positive and Negative Numbers – Board Game
Practise identifying opposite integers, plotting positive and negative numbers and solving word problems with this board game.