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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Recognising Numbers 0 — 20 BINGO Game
Help your students identify numbers 0 - 20 with this printable Bingo game!
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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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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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Classroom Display for Numbers 1 - 10
Utilise this classroom display to help your students recognise multiple representations of the numbers 1 - 10.
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Numbers 1 - 20 Representation Matching Cards
Practise representing the numbers 1 - 20 with your students using these matching cards that enable them to engage with numbers in six different formats.
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Number, Name and Ten Frame Match-Up Cards 1-30
Cards to consolidate numerals, names and values up to 30.
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Number Ordering Game (Numbers 1 - 10)
Play this number ordering game for a fun way to increase student skill in ordering numbers 1 - 10.
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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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Number Recognition Printable Dot Maze Pack
Utilise these number recognition printable worksheets to help your students identify the numbers 1 through 20.
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Counting to 20 I Have, Who Has? Card Game
Show student knowledge of counting to 20 with this fun I Have, Who Has? Counting Card Game.
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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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One More, One Less - Worksheet
Practise foundational addition and subtraction facts using the concepts of one more and one less.
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Hands-On Numbers 1-10 Caterpillar Activity
Match numbers 1-10 with their various visual representations to build a fun mathematical caterpillar!
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Subitising Game — Memory
Use this subitising game to help your students learn to quickly subitise numbers 1 - 12.
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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 Worksheets Variety Pack
Incorporate these subitising worksheets into your lessons to give your students practise subitising collections up to 12.
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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 Dice - Numbers 1 to 9
Practise subitising to 9 with your students using this versatile set of dice flashcards.
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Ten Frame Variety Pack
Enliven your ten frame activities with this variety pack that contains both single and double ten frame templates.
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Ice Cream Counting Game
Help students practise their knowledge of counting numbers 1-20 with this fun ice cream matching game.
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I Have Who Has – Numbers 1–20
Practise identifying numbers 1–20 with this set of “I Have, Who Has” game cards.
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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 Worksheet
Practise subitising to 10 with your students using this printable worksheet set.
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Number Recognition Worksheet Pack
Use this collection of number recognition worksheets to help your students practise recognising the numbers 0 through 20 in many forms.
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Number Recognition Craft Activity Pack
Reinforce number recognition with this engaging craft activity pack for numbers 1 - 10.
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Fire Truck Math Worksheets for Kindergarten / Foundation
Build number and 2D shape identification skills with our printable Fire Truck Maths Worksheets.
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Build a City Counting Game
Build towers consisting of numbers up to 10 with this fun build a city game.
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Counting Objects Parking Lot - Numbers 1-10
Count objects and recognise numbers with a fun car-themed match-up style game.
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Counting Objects Hunt – Numbers 1–10
Use one-to-one correspondence skills to practise counting objects up to 10.
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Rounding Task Cards
Use place value knowledge to round numbers to the nearest ten through to the nearest hundred thousand with this set of 20 task cards.
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Tens Numbers 10 - 100 Posters - Money, Tallies, Tens Frames and MAB Blocks (Australian Currency)
Posters showing numbers going up in tens from 10 - 100 with associated images.
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10-20 Digit Cards
A set of 10-20 digit cards to be used when teaching place value.
- Number Sense Games
- Number Sense Worksheets
- Number Sense Posters
- 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