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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Ten Frame Printable Templates
Use these printable ten frames in various math lessons to reinforce number sense and other essential skills.
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Jellyfish Count to 10 Match-Up Craft
Use this fun teaching resource to help consolidate your students’ knowledge of counting to 10.
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Find the Whole From a Percentage Worksheet
Practise how to find the whole from a percentage with this standard-practice worksheet.
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Numbers 1 - 20 Mini Number Books Pack
Introduce the numbers 1 - 20 with these mini books full of activities that are sure to sharpen students' number recognition skills.
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Counting Objects Bear Hunt – Numbers 1–10
Use one-to-one correspondence and basic counting skills with this hands-on game.
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Tracing Numbers 0-10 Handwriting Worksheet
Get your students tracing numbers from 0-10 with this number formation worksheet available in Australian school fonts.
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Colour Counting Worksheet
A worksheet to consolidate the concept of numbers and associated values.
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Ordinals Worksheet Pack
Support early maths instruction with this ordinals worksheet pack, designed to help students confidently identify, read and use ordinal 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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Halve it or Double it! - Maths Game
Boost halving and doubling numbers understanding with this engaging board game.
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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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Finger Counting Cut and Paste
Count to ten using this finger counting cut and paste worksheet.
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Reading Colours Ordinal Numbers Worksheet
Consolidate reading colours and ordinal numbers with this worksheet.
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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 Mazes (Numbers 1 - 10)
Solve our subitising mazes to have fun practising subitising quantities up to 10!
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100th Day Find and Colour - Numbers
Look for numbers with a 100th day of school find and colour worksheet.
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Ten Frame Number Posters (0-20)
Decorate your classroom with our ten frame number posters that will delight your animal-loving students while providing concrete representations of the numbers 0-20.
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Base Ten Block Matching Cards (Numbers 1 - 120)
Connect base ten block representations with numerals with these multi-use matching cards.
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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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Subitising to 10 Worksheet
Practise subitising to 10 with your students using this printable worksheet set.
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Counting Crowns Numbers 1-10
Create number crowns when learning to count to ten with this set of crown templates.
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Monster Counting Mats Numbers 1-10
Count monster eyes up to 10 with this fun counting activity for the early years classroom.
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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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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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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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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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Basketball Maths Craft Activity
Practise 2-3 digit addition (with and without regrouping) with a fun basketball-themed maths craft activity.
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Counting Numbers 0-20 Teaching Slides
Explore counting numbers as students learn to name, represent and order numbers with this ready‑made teaching slide deck.
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Sequence Puzzle for Numbers 1-10 — Gingerbread Man
Share this sequence puzzle with your students for a fun way to practise ordering the numbers 1 - 10.
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Subitising to 10 Teaching Slides
Display our Subitising to 10 Teaching Slides to encourage mathematical discussions in your classroom.
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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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Subitising Card Game
Utilise this subitising card game to reinforce number recognition and subitising skills with some friendly competition!